A Wildcard's Awakening
by RedRat8
Summary: "You know, I've seen some crazy shit in my time, but a whole new world? That's a new one, but I guess it can't be too bad considering I'm traveling with these Shepherds. Let see what kind of crazy shit I get into this time." -Courier Six AKA Marcus.
1. Chapter 1

"Ah fuck me!" A male voice moaned out as a man groaned his way out of a bed and covers and taking a deep breath and stretched before he looked around in confusion. What he saw was a wooden cabin of sorts with a rough wood desk and chair with herbs and the like to the right of him before he turned around and perked as he saw a very familiar sight that made him happy.

"Well hello there, was wondering why you weren't on me." The man said with a smile as he picked up a helmet with red lenses and gas mask as he took a look around the helmet and to his satisfaction found the rest of his armor and looked down and found he was left in his undershirt and underwear.

Then he paused as he realized something important. "Why the hell was I out of my armor in the first place?" The man asked himself before he struggled to remember what happened before his eyes started twitching in annoyance as he remembered what happened exactly. "Damn those brains for giving me a piece of crap teleporter." He groused out as he started putting on his armor now.

Once he finished putting on his armor and checked for everything and was satisfied he suddenly heard a scream coming from outside and instantly he was on guard before he reached for his Pipboy 3000 and pulled out an old and reliable friend, the weathered N99 10mm pistol, and Blood Nap and then started to open the door slowly and he narrowed his eyes at what he saw. Raiders were attacking this place and either killing or stealing the place.

Well that won't go on for much longer.

The man then crouched down before he found a raider standing in front of him facing the other way. He quickly grabbed his throat and stabbed it and laying the body to the side before continuing on and silencing the raiders one by one. Before he came across a group of three of them and this time he used his pistol and shot them all before they had a chance to notice what was going on.

He breathed silently as he went on searching for any more of these Raiders.

"AH YOU PIECE OF SHIT! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" A loud voice screamed behind him causing him to jump and rolled around before looking back at who shouted at him as he saw a furious looking raider holding an axe frothing with rage at him. "I'M GONNA CARVE YOU UP!" He screamed before quickly being silenced by a bullet to the forehead.

"Well that was pathetic." The man muttered before he looked around and saw perhaps the most unusual sight he had ever seen.

A man with…blue hair wielding a weird looking sword charged at one of the raiders and cutting him down in half. A blonde girl with a unique dress holding a staff of some kind was letting the staff glow at an injured armored man on a horse with a spear…with the wound closing up right before his eyes. Then he turned his attention to a woman with… long white hair that was tied up in two tails…shooting fire out of her left hand, while her right held a red book, burning one of the raiders alive.

At this point the man simply just sighed and rubbed his head, which would have worked if he wasn't wearing his helmet and only looked silly when he did it. It was quite clear to him that he wasn't in Kansas anymore and most likely ended up somewhere that was clearly not the Mojave Wasteland. Maybe he ended up somewhere in Europe of Asia for all he knew. But considering that the raider was speaking English he was going to put his bet on Europe or somewhere in America maybe.

Anyways, as soon as he finished contemplating to himself he soon looked up to see that the blue haired man jumped up and cut down a raider in half with little to no effort and running around cutting down the raiders one by one as the woman spewed fire covering his back. He had to admit that was actually pretty impressive. He had only seen one other man capable of doing what the blue haired man did and he was the most annoying foe he ever fought.

At any rate, he joined up the battle and took care of any stragglers that tried to surround them and stayed hidden for time being. Soon he crouched behind a house and heard a woman whimpering and a man laughing maliciously.

"You, dastard! Taking a civilian hostage!" A male voice scolded.

"Hey, I do what I got to do to live punk." The raider, most likely, spoke up.

"Please help me!" The woman cried out.

"Shut it!" The raider said before he heard a smacking sound causing the woman to whimper and growling sounds from not only the man but also a woman from the sounds of it as well. "Now here's the deal here, you let me get away and I won't harm a hair on this girl's head, got it?!" the raider demanded.

"You think we will let you get away after what you did here!?" Another man exclaimed. "Do not take us for fools; you brigand!" He shouted.

"Hey you only got two options, either let me go or see this woman die, take it or leave it." The raider demanded and that was when the man made his move.

"I got another one." He spoke out, causing the raider to turn to him in confusion.

"What? -" Was all the raider managed to get out as he shoved his knife down the raider's throat causing the raider to loosen his grip and allowing the woman to escape.

"Just die, will you?" The man said as he pulled out his bloodied knife before looking back to the group of four that were looking at him in shock, awe, suspicion, and confusion.

Not really sure what to say to the group he simply held up his hand that was not holding the knife and waved to them. "Hello." Was all he could say.

* * *

Chrom could not believe what he just saw, when that bandit was taking that woman hostage he wasn't sure what he could do to save her and then all of a sudden, a stranger in weird looking armor just simply got behind him and just stabbed his throat and simply just waved and said hello to them. Quickly gathering his wits he quickly smiled at the stranger. "Hello to you too stranger and thank you for helping save that woman." He said thankfully as the stranger simply shook his head.

"I just did what anyone would have done, nothing to thank me for…" He trailed off realizing that he did not know his name and Chrom realized he didn't know his name as well.

"Ah! I'm sorry about that, my name is Chrom." He introduced himself. "This is Lissa, my sister." He said motioning to the blonde girl that just gave a peace symbol on her fingers and smiled. "And the man on the horseback is Frederick." He said motioning to him who simply just stared at the stranger distrustfully. "And this woman we…don't know her name." he confessed getting a tilt to the side from the stranger. "She has amnesia." Lissa spoke and the man nodded at that in acceptance. "So, who are you stranger?" Chrom asked.

The man looked contemplative for a second as he looked down before looking right back to them now. "Name's Marcus." He said. "Marcus, better known as Courier Six." He said causing Chrom to be confused at that.

"You are rather well trained and skilled for a simple messenger Marcus." Chrom commented on. And for some reason he felt as though Marcus was smiling at him from underneath his helmet.

"There's one rule back home and that rule is don't screw with the guy that delivers your mail." He said jestingly as Lissa simply giggled at that and Chrom chuckled a bit at that as well, before the woman suddenly spoke up with bright eyes.

"I remember!" She gasped out causing everyone to look to her. "I remember my name." She breathed with a smile. "My name…is Robin." She said looking very pleased with herself. Chrom just smiled a bit at that as he heard that.

"Well then allow me to officially introduce myself to you Robin." Chrom said with a smile "My name is Chrom, and the delicate one is Lissa, and the serious one is Frederick." He said getting a neutral look from his bodyguard and a pout from his little sister.

Robin smiled at them as Marcus then spoke up. "Well then nice to meet you Robin, as you already heard name's Marcus." He said as he bowed a bit to her making her flush a bit at his attitude getting snickers from Lissa.

"But I'm amazed though." Lissa spoke up. "swords, sorceries, and strategies." She said in awe as she looked to Robin who simply blushed a bit. "Is there anything you can't do?" She asked with a hint of wonderment.

Robin shrugged a bit helplessly at that. "I wouldn't know, don't remember, remember?" She teased getting a pout from Lissa once again. "But I must admit, what do you look like underneath that helmet Marcus?" She asked as everyone else turned to him with Chrom being somewhat curious himself.

Marcus simply shrugged and took off his helmet reveal a rather young man possibly around his or Robin's age with sun kissed skin, black messy hair, two scars on his forehead and chocolate brown eyes. "Better?" He asked. Getting a quick nod from a blushing Lissa and smile from Robin. Chrom simply chuckled at his sister's reaction.

"Though I must ask what were you doing before you killed that brigand." Frederick spoke up getting stares at Marcus who simply just nodded.

"Found myself in a cabin being tended to before I found some of those raiders trying to attack the village and I decided to take care of all of them before they do any more damage." He said getting wide eyes from Chrom and Robin, instantly realizing the reason why there weren't any reinforcements coming. Then I saw you guys and decided to take care of any stragglers and the like to make sure they don't surround you." He added in.

As Chrom turned around to see all the dead bodies of the brigands and simply realized just how silently Marcus killed them, he is very impressed with his skills and thought he would make a good Shepherd to join in as well.

"Impressive." Robin breathed out as Lissa nodded.

"And that brings me to an important question that I wish to ask the both of you." Chrom spoke up grabbing the attention of both Marcus and Robin. "How would the both of you like to join the Shepherds now?"

Robin was at first surprised but then smiled at him. "If you would have me." She said as she did a bow. Chrom smiled as he now had a tactician for his group and turned to Marcus expectantly who was deep in thought for the time being.

"I'm going to assume that this group isn't simply a group of sheep herders, right?" He asked with a joking tone as Chrom chuckled a bit. "Well I simply just got here so I would like some time to consider if you don't mind." He said as Chrom nodded, he can respect that.

But what he said also grabbed Frederick's attention instantly. "You mean to tell me you're a foreigner?" He asked cautiously as Marcus simply just nodded. "Where do you hail from then Marcus?"

"Ever heard of Nevada?" Marcus asked before getting shaking heads. "Thought as much, home was rather isolated and I didn't know much about the outside world and decided to take the chance to explore. I don't even know where I am in all honesty." Marcus admitted.

"Well if it helps Marcus, you're in the Halidom of Ylisse." Lissa spoke up helpfully as Marcus nodded in thanks to her.

"Well at least that clarifies where I am, but I hope you lot don't mind if I travel with you of course?" Marcus asked as Chrom quickly replied.

"Of course not, we don't mind you coming with us at all." Chrom said happily.

"Milord I must protest this!" Frederick argued. "We're already taking a risk with taking Robin and now you want to bring a man that could be an Assassin judging from the way he was able to silently kill all those brigands and not attract our attention?"

"Fredrick, he can't be that bad of a man if he simply helped defend the village from the brigands and my instincts are telling me that he won't be a threat to us." Chrom said firmly as Frederick simply sighed.

"Very well milord but please keep in mind that I only have your safety at hand here." Frederick sighed out as Chrom nodded.

"Well thanks for letting me join guys, seriously." Marcus said gratefully. "We should probably move those bodies away." Marcus said as he pointed to the corpses of the brigands. "Don't know what kind of diseases they might have if we leave them there, not to mention there might be stuff that could go to the village like food, water, supplies and the like and more importantly weapons." He spoke up getting nods from the rest of the group.

"Indeed, we should move those bodies now." Chrom said as he, Robin, and Frederick joined in with Marcus alongside the villagers that were able to assist in moving those bodies away. On all the corpses that they searched they found out that the bandit leader had a steel sword which they gave to Robin, around six hundred gold with they gave to a very grateful village, a few more weapons which they also sold, and around twelve vulneraries and four concoctions which they added to their medical supplies.

"Milord, did you perhaps noticed that the brigands spoke with a Plegian accent?" Frederick spoke up.

"Plegian? Who are they?" Marcus asked in confusion and Chrom remembered that he did not hail from this country.

Plegia is Ylisse's western neighbors. They send small bands of bandits into our territory hoping to instigate war." Lissa explained to Marcus who looked more confused than anything.

"But for what possible reason does anyone want war?" Marcus asked in confusion. "All they're doing is simply attacking those without the ability to defend themselves." He added in.

"I don't know." Chrom admitted. "But all I need to know is that brigands are attacking the people and they need to be protected, that's what my Shepherds are for." He said with conviction.

As soon as he finished he notice that both Robin and Marcus look quite contemplative about Plegia. Before they went back to moving away the last of the bodies.

Just as they finished offloading the last of the body the mayor ran up to them. "Milord please! You must stay the night! We are simple folks of simple means but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast." The mayor explained.

"A most generous offer sir and no doubt your hospitality would be grand but I'm afraid we must hurry back to the capital." Frederick respectfully declined getting a shocked look from Lissa.

"We're not staying? But Frederick, it's nearly dark out!" Lissa complained.

"When night falls, we'll camp, eat off the land, make our beds out of twigs and the like." Frederick stated. "I thought you mentioned you would be getting used to this milady." He added in.

"I hate you so much at times." Lissa groused out getting a laugh out of Chrom and amused smiles from Robin and Marcus.

"He's very stern, isn't he?" Robin whispered to Chrom who simply slowed down his laughing to smile at Robin.

"Well stern is one way to describe him but there are quite a few other words to describe him!" Lissa jumped in.

"Fredrick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe so to say." Chrom added in.

"You do realize that I'm still here Milord and Milady?" Frederick said as he cleared his throat before both siblings turned to him.

"We know." They both said at the same time before bursting out into laughter and Robin joining in with her giggles and Marcus continuing to look very amused by all this before he turned to Fredrick.

"You seriously need some help if you only smile when you're about to kill someone." He chimed in before everyone was laughing at Frederick's expense.

"As amusing as this is, I believe we must get going now." The not so amused voice of Frederick spoke up.

"Very well then, ready to go you two? The capital isn't far away." Chrom spoke up as both of them nodded. "Then let's get going then." He said as the five of them started walking to the capital.

* * *

( **Much Later Tonight** )

The trip was rather uneventful in Marcus's opinion as they traveled through the woods to go to the capital. The only thing that went on was Lissa whining about how tired she was and how much her feet hurt that Marcus simply offered her a piggyback ride to shut her up and she gleefully took the chance to do so.

Contrary to what the other three expected, Marcus wasn't burdened or tired at all from the long walk as he had spent many hours simply walking with far more weight on his person. And in Marcus's opinion, Lissa was far lighter than anything he had to carry and it got her to stop whining so it was a win/win in his opinion.

Though he could have done without the jokes that Chrom and Robin shot at him for carrying Lissa and basically spoiling her so to say.

"I believe we should stop around here." Robin said as she panted a bit and stumbling on one of the tree roots.

"I know, right? Not to mention the bugs are out! Noisy disgusting bugs that buzz around, crawl on you and bite you before they-" Lissa was then suddenly cut off when a bug flew into her mouth and she spat it out and try to get the taste out as Robin cringed at what happened to her.

"You knew you were asking for, that right?" Marcus said as Lissa glared at him. "Bugs are very curious beings and you were better off not opening your mouth to let them in." He explained.

"Ugh, you're such a meanie, you should be looking over me and encouraging you know?" Lissa whined. Marcus simply smiled in amusement at her.

"If I was such a meanie as you said, would I still be carrying you all this way?" He teased as Lissa went silent at that. "Thought so." He said as Chrom chuckled at that.

"Come now, we're almost to the capital so just wait a bit longer and we'll be good." Frederick said from on top of his horse.

"Frederick, I think we should stop, not all of us can move as easily as you or Marcus not to mention I am somewhat famished." Chrom spoke up causing Frederick to sigh and stop now.

Soon they found a cave and Marcus let down Lissa and soon he heard a sound akin to that of a squeal and started to wonder away as the rest of the group was resting and catching their breaths as Frederick looked at him warily as he told them he would be back soon.

After some wondering he was able to track down the trail and soon found what looks like a wild pig and soon he took out his Proton Axe and whistled to the pig and soon it rushed at him before it got its brains slashed in half from a well-timed hit from Marcus's axe. After he checked to make sure it was dead he started dragging the animal back with him alongside a few wild herbs that he found and soon found that the group was about to leave before looking at him in shock at what he dragged back.

Seeing their expression, he looked at them in confusion. "Is something the matter?" He asked before Chrom snapped out his shock and laughed a bit.

"Guess with the boar you caught and the size of that thing we won't be starving tonight." He chuckled as he nodded.

"Right then, so who wants to help start a campfire?" he asked as Frederick nodded then Robin and Chrom went to collect branches and the like and dropped them by the stone circle that Frederick dug out and soon built a spit as Marcus was busy humming to himself cutting up the meat and pulling a pot out from his Pipboy getting surprised looks from the rest of them and even more surprised looks when Marcus also pulled out purified water and dumped into the pot and started boiling it when Robin lit the woods on fire with her magic.

Marcus hummed to himself as he used various herbs and plants that he found that were edible and dumped them in alongside strips of pig meat and the like and soon the pot was giving out a wonderful smell that he could see Robin and Chrom drooling a bit.

As soon as he was done he pulled out five bowls with spoons and used the ladle, that he stirred the stew with, to pour out a bowl of soup and soon handed one to everyone save for Frederick. Who stated he already ate a big lunch, which Marcus called bull on, and then got some apples that Marcus kept on him and ate as well. As soon as Marcus made sure there were enough for seconds and possibly thirds, he threw out the rest of the meat that he didn't use and was soon satisfied with the local wolves ignoring them in favor of the pig meat he threw out.

"This is so good!" Chrom exclaimed as he kept digging into his meal and soon devoured Frederick's share as well. "I didn't know you could cook this well." He said with a wide smile.

"I know, right? It seems our mailman is far more than what he appears to be." Robin added in with a smile as she too also dug in, getting a smile from Marcus.

"This is so delicious!" Lissa moaned out as she dug into her bowl with gusto.

Marcus simply chuckled a bit as he ate his bowl with no troubles. "Back home everyone is self-sufficient to a point. And it is among the many skills that I've picked up along my travels and my home." He said with a smile.

"Fighting and cook, what can you do?" Lissa asked with a smile before Marcus hummed to himself before replying.

"Well I am pretty good at a lot of things. I'm skilled in repairing and maintaining weapons and equipment, I am also something of a scientist so I am good with researching and observation. I do diplomacy, negotiations, and trades as well for various people and groups. I'm skilled in unarmed, armed, ranged, combat, I also know my way around to making traps and disabling them, I'm also skilled in lock picking as well, I have taught myself survival skills and medical skills, and I'm good at sneaking around. Does that answer your question Lissa?" He asked with a smile as the rest of them looked gob smacked of just how skilled Marcus really is.

Robin started chuckling a bit. "Truly a man of many talents." She said "By the way where did you get the pot, bowls, ladle, and forks from?" She asked. "They weren't on you when we first met you and you simply made them appear out of thin air." She said as the other three were paying attention to her now.

Marcus nodded. "You're quite the smart one, no wonder Chrom wanted you to become his tactician." He praised making Robin blush a bit. "But you are wrong, I did not make them appear out of thin air, I made them appear from this." Marcus said pointing to his Pipboy 3000. "This is a tool known as the Pipboy 3000, with it I can store as much materials as I want ranging from various item from weapons." He then made an axe appear catching them by surprise. "To armor." Reveling a Remnant Power Armor helmet. "Food and water." Showing an apple and bottle of water. "And a few other items as well." He said showing whet stones, pencils, and paper.

As soon as he finished demonstrating that, his audience were in awe of his Pipboy 3000 and Robin looks jealous. "That would make supply carrying so much easier." She muttered. "I'm also assuming that this is something of a result of your nation's advancements I believe?" She asked getting surprised looks from Chrom and Frederick.

"Impossible! That can't possibly be anything but magic!" Chrom exclaimed before Lissa spoke up.

"Actually brother, she's right." Lissa said as Chrom turned to her for an explanation. "I don't sense any magic off of that thing." She explained as Robin nodded as well. "So, this is clearly an indicator of how advanced Marcus's homeland is." She stated as Marcus nodded.

"Indeed, now all of you try to get some sleep now I will be on first watch." Marcus said as everyone went to sleep soon enough, except Frederick who simply watched him with one eye opened.

(Time Skip)

"It's just a strange feeling is all, so go back to sleep." Chrom said as Marcus woke up while Chrom went on guard duty.

"No way I'm coming with you." Lissa replied.

Chrom simply sighed. "All right but try not to wake the others." He explained.

"Too late." Marcus spoke up and spooking both of them out before Chrom regained his composure.

"Oh, I'm so- "Chrom attempted to apologize only for Marcus to wave it off.

"Relax, I'm a light sleeper and highly reactive to any possible raider activity. So, let's go and see what's bothering you." Marcus said as he, Lissa, and Chrom went into the forest and explored for a bit but found nothing.

"There's nothing around here Chrom." Lissa sighed as she plopped down on a rock. "Could it have been your imagination?" She asked.

"Most likely." Chrom admitted. "Sorry about this, let's go get some rest."

"…It's too quiet." Marcus stated grabbing Lissa and Chrom's attention. "No bug buzzing, or sounds of anything." He added in.

Then all of a sudden, the ground started shaking then the way that they came through was blocked when a tree fell in their way. Soon the trio sprinted away as a wall of lava appeared where the ground suddenly split in two and was spewing fireballs and Marcus quickly took Lissa on his back, not willing to let her risk herself and soon received a strange look from Chrom causing Marcus to roll his eyes.

As soon as the ground stopped shaking, Marcus soon set a red faced Lissa down and then all of a sudden, a giant blue portal of sorts was formed out of the sky and then Chrom drew his blade and Marcus drew a riot shotgun and soon enough dark corpses like figures with glowing red eyes appeared and moaned as they took their weapons and charged for the trio.

Marcus soon got in front and blasted them away with his riot shotgun, with the sounds of his weapon causing Chrom and Lissa to flinch but back away slowly as Marcus tried to cover them best he could.

"Get back you two!" Marcus shouted as he rolled over to the side as one of the monsters swung its axe at him before Marcus pulled out his Lucky Pistol and shot it clean in the head and causing it to disperse.

Soon Marcus looked up to the portal and much to his surprise, saw someone running out of there and soon jumping out and running perhaps even faster than Chrom did and got past him causing Marcus to curse as the stranger clad in blue drew his sword and swung it at a corpse heading for Chrom.

Soon Marcus drew out a fire bomb and threw it at the freaks and caused them to explode as he retreated as quickly as he could to blast away another freak with his Lucky Pistol near Lissa. Soon Chrom met up with them as the stranger started charging at the freaks by himself.

"Hey Chrom, any idea what these things are?" Marcus asked as he blasted away a heavy looking Risen.

"No idea, they're not native here for sure." Chrom panted as he blocked a swing from one of the freaks and sliced its head off.

"We're in a bad position here, we need to regroup with Frederick and Robin." Marcus stated as he blasted a freak away from him.

"Agreed." Chrom said.

"Milord!" A familiar voice boomed out as Fredrick soon came with not only Robin but also two more warriors as well. First was a red armored redhead woman on a horse and the second was a very fancy looking wavy haired man with a bow and quiver on him.

"Frederick, Robin, Sully, Virion!" Chrom shouted out with a smile. "Thank Naga you're here we could use the aid." He said gratefully.

"Well' you aren't starting the party without me now are you captain?" The redhead spoke up with a grin.

"Never Sully." Chrom scoffed as soon as Marcus got close to them and could see them properly now. "Ah Marcus glad you're here, these two are also Shepherds and they're Sully and Virion." He introduced.

"Charmed." Marcus deadpanned. "But I think the freaks before us need a proper lesson in who they can't mess with." He said as he replaced his riot shotgun with two katana blades, surprising the newcomers. "So, what's the plan Robin?" He asked.

"Um okay, well first Chrom and Lissa stick together that way Lissa can be protected at all times and Chrom can receive healing. Frederick and Sully pair up so that way you two can have the most amount of maneuverability on the field, You and me stick together so we can cover each other's backs while Virion stay a nice distance and shoot them down, got it?" She ordered.

Everyone nodded in reply and soon they all quickly took down the foes among them with Frederick and Sully's horses trampling down everything that was in their way as their riders use their lances to smash every one of those freaks with ease. Meanwhile Chrom was simply shattering his way through the freaks but did not stay too far away from Lissa as she used her power to heal Chrom when he got bad injuries. Virion was shooting down all the freaks with ease and calm as he stood on a hill to give him proper distance.

However, Robin and Marcus were practically slaughtering everyone in their wake as unknown to the Shepherds. Marcus was cybernetically and genetically enhanced that every time he swung his blade he would destroy the freaks in one hit. As Robin practically burned all the freaks away and did it with ease as she covered Marcus before switching to her steel sword and joining Marcus in the sword fight and covered his weak points as Marcus did the exact same for her.

As they finished off the rest of the monsters Robin and Marcus soon regrouped with Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick. Whereas according to Frederick, Sully and Virion returned to the capital. "And this young man assisted in taking down the remaining stragglers." Frederick explained as the five of them looked to the man.

Except Marcus raised an eyebrow in the stranger's direction, since it was quite clear to him that the stranger was a woman. Not so hard considering she didn't have an Adam's apple, has a more feminine hourglass figure that was hidden and then she spoke and her voice pitch was too high to be that of a man.

"You assisted us greatly. Thank you." Chrom thanked. "My name is Chrom, what is your name?" He asked.

The Stranger said nothing but looked at the group contemplatively but her eyes focused Marcus a bit longer than the others before she spoke.

"You may call me Marth." Marth introduced herself as.

"Marth? As in the Heroic Hero King of old?" Chrom questioned.

'Isn't that a bit redundant?' Marcus deadpanned in his thoughts.

"Well you certainly fight like a hero, where did you learn your way with a sword?" He asked.

"I'm not here to talk about me, this world teeters on the brink of a horrific calamity what you saw tonight was nothing more than a preview." Marth warned.

"Gee that is very helpful and all but your kind of suspicious considering you came out of the same thing that those freaks come from." Marcus spoke up as he stared at Marth distrustfully before Marth soon left causing Marcus to scoff. "Freaking seers." He grumbled.

"But what do you think he meant by a horrific calamity?" Chrom asked as everyone shook their head.

"Chances are it might have something to do with the freaks we fought and considering how this is going, chances are we're probably going to see Marth again." Marcus said as Frederick nodded in agreement.

"At any rate, we should go now we're close to the capital." Chrom said as they continued on their way.

(Ylisstol)

Marcus whistled at what he saw. "So, this is the capital, got to say I'm impressed." He complimented. 'Certainly, better than any of the old-world relics that's for sure.' He thought to himself.

"I'm just glad that what we encountered has yet to reach the capital." Robin said with a smile.

"Indeed. We have that to be thankful for." Frederick nodded in agreement.

"The Exalt is greeting us." An elderly man spoke out, causing Marcus to perk up at than learning from the natives that she was their leader. And soon Marcus saw her. A woman with long curled blonde hair with fair skin clad in green robes with a unique mark on her forehead…the same mark that he saw on Chrom. He also took note of her kind smile and her friendly demeanor and for a moment Marcus was jealous of these people.

The leaders that he met back home were nothing at all like the Exalt here. The current NCR President was a war hawk, House was stuck in his own little world, Papa Kahn was too drowned in the past, the Brotherhood Elder was unwilling to change for the benefit of others, and Caesar…the less said about him the better. In fact, the only ones that could compare were possibly Mother Pearl and Colonel James.

Shaking his thoughts on the leaders from his world he took note of this woman. 'She feels kind and friendly and gives out an aura of a calm and soothing presence.' Marcus noted in his thoughts.

"You seem interested in the Exalt." Lissa noticed as Marcus turned to her.

"She brings an aura of peace and kindness, very rare qualities." Marcus replied.

"True." Lissa admitted before she smiled. "I can help you meet her if you want." She said.

"Oh really?" Marcus asked with a knowing smile.

"Yeah." Lissa said smirking. "I'm sure my big sister would be happy to meet you."

Sadly, Marcus wasn't really surprised. "I highly doubt your sister would be okay with meeting a simple courier like me regardless of the fact that you are royalty." He replied.

At that Lissa was surprised alongside Chrom while Robin was left open mouthed gasping at what she heard.

"Wait so you knew we were royalty? Since when?" Chrom asked curiously.

Marcus shrugged a bit. "There were a lot of hints here and there if you pay attention." He replied as Frederick looked at with an expectant look. "The first that gave you guys away was your manner of speaking, it is refined and has proper grammar for the most part. The second part was the fact of how clean you guys were, it can't be easy trying to keep that clean in comparison to the villagers we saw and compared to how clean Frederick was and you two are still cleaner. The third part was the fact that you guys have clothes and armor of fine make and the likes, take for example Chrom's boots, top quality leather and Lissa's dress, it has silk in it if I'm correct. But the biggest hint was the birthmark on Chrom's shoulder looking exactly the same as the one on the Exalt's forehead." Marcus explained leaving the minds of two royal members blown.

Frederick chuckled at their expression now. "You are very observant Marcus." He said with a hint of grudging respect that Marcus nodded to.

"Then why didn't you tell me or share your suspicions with me!?" Robin hissed as she started to bow to the two causing the two royal members to get out of their shock and chuckle at Robin's expression and bow.

"Because if they wanted to be treated like the top then they would have told us from the beginning or demand it from us. So, they most likely didn't care." Marcus explained as Chrom nodded.

"Indeed, you're correct, and please Robin stand up, you're making me blush a bit. Just Chrom is fine, after all. Titles make me rather uncomfortable." He explained causing Robin to stand up blushing a bit.

"Sorry about that Chrom." Robin said as she rubbed her head a bit.

"it's no problem, now come with me I wish to introduce my sister to the Shepherd's newest tactician and the guest from outside." Chrom said as both Marcus and Robin nodded.

'Been here less than two days and already meeting the Exalt. Wonder what does fate have in store for me.' Marcus wondered to himself he entered the largest building to meet the Exalt.


	2. Chapter 2

Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, Robin, and Marcus soon made their way to the palace throne room where they saw the Exalt talking to a woman in armor. 'Chances are that might be one of her military advisors.' Marcus thought to himself before the two drew their talk to a close and they noticed the group approaching them.

The armored woman soon step down to approach the group as Chrom waved to the armored woman. "Commander Philia." Chrom greeted to the armored woman who simply nodded, but didn't say anything else. She soon led the group to the center of the throne room before the throne itself where the Exalt was soon seated.

"Presenting her Royal Highness, the Exalt Emmeryn!" Philia declared before the Exalt smiled gently at the woman.

"Please Philia, there is no need for formalities for we are among friends." Emmeryn said kindly and softly that somehow it permeated the room and for the first time in a long time, Marcus found himself easing up somehow.

"My apologies your Grace, force of habit if you don't mind me saying." Philia said but her posture indicated that she didn't care either way.

Emmeryn simply chuckled a bit, beaming at her before she was tackled by a running Lissa who threw herself at her sister as Emmeryn simply hugged her and gently stroke her hair. "Hello Lissa, I trust that the latest campaign was fun?" She asked with a gentle smile on her face.

"Yeah!" Lissa said rather enthusiastically before sobering a bit. "Then there was the whole thing with the ground shaking, fire appearing out of nowhere, these weird zombies coming out of a blue portal like thing." She said as she shuddered a bit.

Marcus has to admit that the Exalt had a damn good poker face considering she looked hardly perturbed by what her little sister went through and said. "Do not worry, a war council will convene shortly on how to deal with this new threat for we have received multiple reports on these strange beings appearing all over the place." She said causing Marcus to grow alarmed at what she said.

Before he could say anything, Chrom soon approached the Exalt and soon hugged her as well. "It's great to see you again Emm." Chrom said with a smile.

The two older siblings embraced before Emmeryn took note of Robin and Marcus standing there. "I don't believe I had the pleasure of meeting you two yet." Emmeryn spoke up.

The other guards soon took notice of the two and soon the amnesic and outsider became the center of attention. Robin was rather uncomfortable with the attention and was rather nervous whereas Marcus took this as a chance to introduce himself.

"Greeting Lady Exalt, I am Marcus, simply Courier and Traveler, at your service." Marcus introduced himself as he did a bow with his helmet cradled in his right hand placed over his heart. He soon shot Robin a look and the amnesic soon followed suit bowing in a similar manner to him.

Emmeryn simply laughed heartily at their display. "There is no need for elaborate introductions but it is appreciated nonetheless. Just how did you meet Chrom and Lissa?" She asked.

"Well we first found Robin in the field, while we met Marcus after a hostage situation in which he dispatched the brigand leader and before that he took out the reinforcements that they had." Chrom explained. "Marcus is a traveler hailing from a place called Nevada whereas…Robin has amnesia."

Emmeryn gave Chrom a questioning glance so obvious that anyone could read it in the room.

"I know it sounds suspect at best Emm." Chrom admitted. "But if it were not for Robin's tactical leadership we would have taken a single casualty and if it weren't for Marcus' aid we would have found ourselves surrounded with brigand reinforcement and both me and Lissa would not have been standing here." He explained catching Emmeryn's interest in what he said.

"What do you mean by that?" Emmeryn asked softly but with a hint of steel underneath her soft-spoken voice.

Lissa then spoke up. "When those zombies first came out we were outnumbered till Marcus took out a unique projectile weapon and covered our retreat and he even swooped me off my feet to carry me to safety." Lissa trilled in.

'Pretty sure all I did was get you some distance till we fought those freaks but hey, this is helping me.' Marcus thought to himself.

Emmeryn seemed to ease after hearing that. "Ah if that's the case then I have much to thank you for Marcus. If there is anything that I can offer you, please do not hesitate." She said with a smile at the Wildcard.

Marcus was not surprised by her actions, many times he had been thanked heavily by the grateful natives back home, and he even remembered the time that the Kings sent someone to give him supplies and the likes for doing good by them.

But what could he really ask for though? If it were money, he still had those thirty-seven gold bars he had in his Pimpboy for emergencies and considering that they use gold here he would be good. If it were food or water, he had enough emergencies stocked up for up to about three months. If it were weapons, he had some of the best in the wasteland. On the other hand, he knew very little about this place and with that he found his price.

"I don't need much but perhaps the chance to access your library and the likes Lady Exalt?" He asked getting befuddled looks from everyone at his request. "Like I said, I'm a traveler and it would help a lot if I knew more about the place I'm in right about now." Marcus said with a smile.

"…I suppose that would make sense." Emmeryn said a bit slowly before she regained her bright smile. "Very well then, you are free to access our library any time you desire." She said as Marcus bowed his head in thanks.

"A moment you Grace." Frederick spoke up.

Emmeryn regard the Knight. "Yes Frederick?"

"Your Grace, while it is true that both Robin and Marcus performed great deeds, but that does not excuse the fact that they are both unknowns. One with Marcus's status as a traveler from an unknown nation and Robin's status as a supposed amnesic. I believe that they should not be trusted." Frederick explained.

Robin shot the knight a scowl at his words while Marcus looked more amused than anything else at what Frederick said. Amusement that Frederick caught on, if his frowning look was anything to go by.

"What is so funny Marcus? Here I am accusing you of being an untrustworthy man alongside Robin and you simply look amused!?" Frederick demanded to know.

"I'm hardly offended at your accusations since you're simply just doing your duty Frederick." Marcus started catching everyone off guard before Marcus continued and showed them exactly how good he became at diplomacy. "While it is true that me and Robin are rather suspicious in that we simply appeared out of nowhere so to say. And it is quite possible that what you claim may be true." He admitted. "But that's all there is, you CLAIM." Marcus said, emphasizing on that word causing the knight to go silent. "Now unless you have proof that either me or Robin are a legit threat, then I will simply have to say that I find your accusation highly offensive and also racist as well because of my foreign nature and Robin's possible foreign nature as well." Marcus said, earning smirks from both Chrom and Lissa and an impressed look from Philia and Emmeryn as well due to him shutting down Frederick's argument. Not to mention Robin looked more than relieved at what he said. "Of course, I'm willing to stand trial if you find me to be suspect still." Marcus added in.

"There will be no such thing going on." Chrom said sternly. "Not when you two haven't done anything wrong, I will not allow it." He declared.

Emmeryn could not help but chuckle at what she saw, Marcus managed to outsmart Fredrick and defend both his and Robin's position. "Chrom do these two have your trust?" She asked.

"Without a doubt, they both risked their lives to help protect the people and protect me and Lissa." Chrom immediately said.

"Yeah, they're both on our sides!" Lissa said ecstatically. "Not to mention Marcus gave me a piggyback ride more than halfway here." She added in.

Emmeryn smiled at what she heard from Lissa. "Then I shall place my trust in these two as well. But thank you for your concern Frederick, we may need it in the coming days." She said kindly to the loyal knight.

"Milady." Frederick responded with a bow.

Emmeryn then looked to Marcus and Robin. "I'm am glad that such people are in the Shepherds now." She said before Chrom coughed a bit.

"Actually, Marcus is not a Shepherd yet, he- "

"Just joined." Marcus interrupted. "And I am willing to talk more about it later." He said catching Chrom off guard.

"What? But didn't you said you needed time to consider?" Chrom asked in bewilderment.

"Had more than enough time to consider so considered me joined." Marcus replied.

"Well thank you for joining us either way." Chrom said gratefully. "Now I believe we should head for the meeting now, correct Emm?" Chrom asked as Emmeryn nodded as the older siblings and both knights headed to the meeting room while Lissa quickly grabbed the two by their arms and started dragging them.

"Come on, there's something I need to show you two!" Lissa playfully shouted as she dragged the two with Robin looking somewhat panicky and Marcus looking amused with Lissa.

"Hey calm down Lissa!" Robin shouted as both Marcus and Chrom laughed at her expense.

* * *

"Here we are! Welcome to the Shepherd's Garrison!" Lissa said proudly as she showed the two newcomers around the building that honestly looked as though it seen better days.

"Interesting place you got." Marcus commented as the place still looked better than most building back home. There was a large and open armory, with a cooking room to the side, and several rooms to the other side of the yard, which was some kind of training yard of some kind of Sully sparring with a blonde well-built man with an axe. While Virion was enjoying some kind of drink.

"LISSA!" A female voice shouted behind the trio causing them to turn around to see a woman with blond curls and a parasol in her hands looking rather worried.

"Hey Maribelle!" Lissa greeted cheerfully. "What got you in a rush?" She asked.

"You do!" The now identified Maribelle shouted. "I heard from Sully that you went through a terrible ordeal! I almost fainted when I heard about facing those dreadful creatures!" She said with a huff. "I sprouted fourteen gray hairs worrying about you!" She added in with concern.

Robin and Marcus blinked at what she said. Both were wondering how someone knew they sprouted gray hair or even better, how they knew the exact number of gray hair they sprouted.

Lissa simply giggled at her. "Don't worry about me, I can handle a battle or two. Though I could have done without the bugs buzzing me though." She added in as an afterthought. "Oh by the way meet Marcus and Robin, our new recruits." She introduced to Maribelle as Robin waved at her and Marcus did a two-finger salute in her direction.

"Hey so you two made it!" Sully suddenly spoke up as she approached them from behind followed by the blonde man as she wiped the sweat off her face with a towel. "Was wondering how long you two would be held up."

"So, these the new guys you told me about huh?" The blonde man spoke. "Name's Vaike but everyone calls me Teach!" Vaike said with a smile.

"I don't." Lissa quickly responded.

"Hell no!" Followed by Sully's blunt reply.

"How barbaric!" An offended Maribelle shouted.

"Just met you." Ended with both Marcus and Robin saying that at the same time.

"Ah come on guys! Cut me a little slack!" Vaike said while looking somewhat depressed.

"So, you're called Teach now?" Lissa said with a grin. "Guess some people can learn wit." She commented.

"Ha never doubt the Vaike!" Vaike said as he puffed his chest causing Marcus to roll his eyes a bit at how slow he was. "Wait…was that an insult?" He questioned in annoyance.

Marcus sighed at that, it was clear to him that Vaike was slow. "Right." He said speaking up now. "So beside you folks here anyone else we're missing?" He asked as he saw a man in huge armor walk out of a door to behind the other Shepherds.

"Well there's Stahl, Sumia, Miriel, and…huh…wonder where Kellam is?" Vaike spoke up as he scratched his head.

"You mean the tall guy in the suit of armor behind you lot?" Marcus deadpanned. Causing everyone to look behind themselves and nearly jumped out of their skin as they finally saw and much to his surprise, everyone looked shocked.

"Um…hi?" Kellam said unsurely.

"He's been standing right there since about two minutes ago." Marcus said slowly as he looked at them again and all of them were in awe of his detection skill or something like that. 'Are these people really that dense?' Marcus thought to himself in his thoughts.

"You can notice me…Marcus?" Kellam asked as Marcus looked at him weirdly.

"You're possibly the tallest guy I've seen here, wearing a giant suit of armor, and you don't take light steps. How am I not supposed to notice or know you're there?" Marcus retorted.

"Well you're the first person to notice him without having to try!" Lissa exclaimed. "The rest of us try to keep our eyes on him but it's just not possible until we met you!"

Marcus sighed as he heard that. "I don't know what's with you people at times." He admitted as he got an offended look from Lissa and Robin.

"Heh! You got the perception but do you think you can do this?" Vaike asked with a smug grin before he bent back and unleashed a devastating burp in Robin and Marcus's direction and the foul odor made them both cover up their noses. Ha! See, now that's a- "He said before he got cut off.

Cut off by a furious Marcus who wrapped his left hand around Vaike's mouth who simply glared at him. "Do not ever do that to me ever again or I swear by God I will find a way to seal your mouth permanently shut. Do I make myself clear?" Marcus demanded as Vaike quickly nodded his head in agreement seeing just how furious Marcus looked. "Good." Was all he said before he let Vaike go.

"Okay I have to say that I didn't know you were capable of that kind of anger." Robin spoke up causing Marcus to turn around and see that Lissa and Maribelle were holding onto each other, Sully was backing up and shakily held her lance, while Robin hid behind Kellam who was pale in the face.

Marcus raised his eyebrows at them before he shrugged. "I do not appreciate being disturbed like that is all." He explained causing the Shepherds to get somewhat nervous at that.

"A somewhat crude way but at least you're cut from finer cloth." Maribelle huffed as she regained her composure before she glared at Vaike. "And Vaike, that was absolutely horrid! Must you pollute the air with your wretched smell in front of our new recruits?" She glaringly at Vaike.

She then stormed away with a disgusted look as Marcus looked back to her and Vaike and thought that he could get along with Maribelle given enough time. Course judging from her manners and the likes, he would have to be more refined in his words with her.

"Wow! I didn't think Maribelle would tolerate you." Lissa said in awe. "Usually people take time for her to warm up to or they just burned away." Marcus simply shrugged at that, good manners were rare in the wasteland and they were usually appreciated.

"I'll say, I can count the number of times Maribelle has been somewhat approving of someone she met for the first time." A male voice called out, causing the group to turn to see a green armored knight with an easygoing grin on his face, followed by a red-haired woman wearing robes and glasses with a large pointy, followed by a pink armored knight with a nervous expression on her face. "Pleased to meet you, name's Stahl, one of the Shepherd's knights, the one in pink is Sumia and the one in the hat is our mage Miriel." He introduced himself.

"A satisfying first chance to meet you, Robin and Marcus." Miriel greeted calmly.

"Nice to meet you both." Sumia said with a smile.

"Pleased to meet you, I am also the Shepherd's new tactician." Robin said with a warm smile as well as Marcus nodded in their direction.

"Indeed, but beg your pardon, do you know where the captain is perhaps?" Sumia asked with a concern look on her face.

"Ah and there's that kindness that managed to dazzle everyone no matter what, kind Sumia!" Virion said as he appeared from the side causing said woman to blush a bit.

"Aw, Sumia, that's so sweet of you to worry about my brother!" Lissa said with a hint of teasing.

"Worry? Well I…he's our captain and our prince- of course I'd worry!" Sumia said as her face turned red and she looked away in embarrassment.

Marcus and Robin both raised their eyebrows at Sumia and both came to a single conclusion about her. 'She has it so bad for Chrom.' They both thought simultaneously.

As Lissa giggled she turned to Robin and looked at her with an expectant look on her face. "Ah right! Is there anything you need to help you out in your duties Miss Tactician?" Lissa asked as Robin got into a thinking pose.

"Well perhaps some books on strategies and tactics would help for one, and perhaps different variety of magic tomes would help as well." Robin said calmly as Lissa nodded and rushed towards the armory and a few minutes later came out with two books in her hand, one yellow and one blue.

"This yellow one here is your basic Thunder Tome." Lissa explained holding up the yellow book. "And the blue one here is a Book of Naga, an incredibly rare tome that can hold multiple elements and uses holy magic as well, this is some really strong stuff here." Lissa said, holding up the tome in her hand.

At that Marcus couldn't help but let out a whistle when he heard all that, he may not know much or anything about magic in general but judging from the way Lissa went on to explain the blue book's power it sounded rather awesome in his opinion.

"It's rather rare and uncommon and very few mages can actually use the tome as it is believed that the Book of Naga picks whether or not the mage is worthy of using its powers and as a result not many people are capable of using it as a result of that." Lissa explained further about the nature of the tome. "It's been here for a while and none of our mages were capable of making it react and it ended up collecting dust as a result but you can have it." She said as she handed Robin both tomes.

"Thank you so much Lissa." Robin said with a heartfelt smile as Lissa waved it off but smiled at the thanks she got. Before Robin turned to Marcus all of a sudden. "Is there anything that you need Marcus?" She asked though she had a good idea that it wasn't necessary.

Marcus simply shook his head in response to Robin's question. "No need, I have all the weapons I need on me at all times." He replied as Robin and Lissa nodded but gained the attention from the other Shepherds.

"What do you mean by that? I don't see any gear your person period." Sully pointed out as the rest of the Shepherd nodded.

"Oh, that's right! Marcus comes from a more advanced nation than ours, he uses his…Pipboy to store his gear." Lissa chimed as the everyone but Miriel looked at him in disbelief whereas the mage looked more intrigued than anything.

Marcus smirked before he pressed a button and everyone suddenly jumped back as the once empty ground was now littered with weapons. They ranged from baseball bats, lead pipes, tire irons, bumper swords, thermic lances, power fists, ballistic fists, knives, cleavers, combat knives, bowie knives, hatchets, axes, war clubs, police batons, rebar clubs, super sledges, machetes, golf clubs, cattle prods, katanas, nail boards, shovels, displacer gloves, bear trap fists, bladed gauntlets, mantis gauntlets, She Embrace, proton axes, throwing knives, cosmic knives, knife spears, sledgehammers, and more.

Lissa was the first one to break out of her shock. "You mean to tell me you had all these weapons on your person the entire time we were traveling together?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

Sully and Vaike whistled at what they saw. "Damn Marcus! You're not a regular fighter that's for sure." Before Sully scoffed at what Vaike said.

"Not a regular fighter? Try a walking armory! Seriously you know how to use all these weapons?" Sully asked as she picked up a cleansed knife spear and testing its weight before she threw it straight into one of the targets where it pierced through completely with ease causing her to look at it approvingly. "Not bad." She admitted before turning to him with an expectant look. "Mind if I keep that one?" She asked with a bit of a plea.

Marcus shrugged. "Go for it I have spares." He replied before Sully ran to where the spear was with a very happy grin on her face.

"I must say, I did not expect that your device could hold this much weapons." Miriel said with an inquisitive look on her face. "Just how in Naga did your people managed to produce such a tool?" She asked as she gleamed at Marcus's Pipboy a little bit too closely for his liking.

"Ha! Have to say you've got many surprises underneath your sleeves huh Marcus?" Vaike said with a grin on his face as he picked up a ballistic fist and a super sledge. "Have to ask what's the gauntlet used for?" Vaike asked in confusion as he stared at the weapon in wonderment.

"That's a weapon for people who are skilled in unarmed combat." Marcus explained. "And that weapon you're holding is called a ballistic fist, one of the more powerful unarmed weapons in existence, it can break through bone and metal with relative ease." He said.

"But bones and metal are hard though." Stahl said in confusion.

"Exactly." Marcus replied.

"Damn!" Vaike whistled with a newfound appreciation for the ballistic fist. "And this one?" He asked soon enough raising the super sledge with one hand leaving Marcus more than impressed with his strength.

"That is called a super sledge. An incredibly powerful hammer so to say that can wreak just about anything given the user's experience and strength." Marcus explained before Vaike dropped his axe and put down the fist and went up to a dummy and swung it downwards and utterly crushing the dummy in one hit.

"This is awesome!" Vaike said as his eyes glowed in respect for this weapon. "Can I keep it?" He asked like a child wanting a new toy for his birthday."

At that Marcus sighed a bit. "Make sure you take care of that tool and put it through regular cleaning and if you have some trouble with it, take it to me so I can take a look see." He said before Vaike went off with a gleeful smile at his new weapon.

"That was rather nice of you." Sumia said with a smile as she slid next to Marcus who started putting away all the weapons into his Pipboy. "Though I am surprised by the number of weapons you carried on your person." She muttered with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Oh, that's nothing Sumia!" Lissa spoke up, surprising the pink knight. "You should have seen this one weapon he was using when those zombies first came out. It was like some kind of repeat shooting bow or tome of some sort. And it was powerful too, considering the loud noise it made and the instant kills it was able to score." Lissa said as she looked to Marcus. "Speaking of which why didn't you continue to use it after we regrouped with others?" Lissa asked.

"You mean you had a weapon that could kill those zombies in one shot and you went ahead with swords anyway?" Robin asked in confusion as Marcus simply nodded. "Why? If you don't mind me asking, but it didn't really matter considering you killed them with one swing from your sword too." She said grabbing a surprised look from Lissa.

"Wait! You managed to kill them in one swing when it took Chrom several swings to kill them!?" Lissa demanded as Marcus nodded a bit slowly at Lissa's expression. "Wow, just how strong are you?" Lissa whistled out quite impressed.

"To answer your question first Robin." Marcus started. "Much like bow and arrows, I only have limited number of shots and unlike arrows they cannot be retrieved and I rather conserve them for emergencies." He explained getting a satisfied nod from her before he turned to Lissa. "As for how strong I am, I am considered one of the greatest fighters where I hail from." Marcus stated.

And it was actually quite clear to him as to why he is so strong. He fought raiders, slavers, legionnaires, wild animals, feral ghouls, giant geckos, mutated plant monsters, sea monsters, giant bugs, crazed robots, psychotic lobotomized patients, White Legs, deathclaws, cazadores, giant scorpions, fire breathing ants, robot scorpions, Ghost People, Marked Men, and more. If he wanted to be quite honest the zombies he faced weren't even that much of a threat to him and they ranked lower among the kind of freaks he fought everyday back home in the wastes.

"Interesting, so there is more to you than meets the eye." Miriel spoke out as she continued to examine the Pipboy on Marcus's hand. "How fascinating, to think that such a little device could work and function without the usage of magic and could store up to a high number of items." She said somewhat in amazement. "I would like the opportunity to examine this further." She said.

"Maybe later." Marcus said as Miriel nodded and walked off with Stahl walking off to do his own thing. "So, anything else we need to do?" He asked Lissa, who simply shook her head.

"Nah, that's all there is to it. Unless we get another mission." She replied and just as she finished Chrom walked in carrying another kind of sword and with a smile on his face as Sumia perked up in response to his arrival.

"Ah captain! You're back!" She said before she somehow slipped on a piece of paper and was about to fall down and land on her face until Marcus grabbed the back of her armor, preventing her from falling anymore and then he helped her up. "Ah, thank you Marcus." She said gratefully as Marcus simply nodded to her.

"No problem." He replied simply before turning his attention to Chrom who was looking at Sumia in concern now.

"Sumia, are you alright? Is it your boots causing you trouble?" He asked kindly.

"…" Sumia was choking on her own words before she nodded quietly and Chrom turned his attention to the rest of the Shepherds that were now paying attention to him.

"All right everyone, listen. In the morning, we are marching to Regna Ferox." He explained.

"Regna Ferox?" Robin whispered to herself in confusion.

"It is a unified kingdom to the north of our country inhabited by barbarians or so I've heard." Sumia pointed out.

"Warriors are what they are." Chrom corrected. "And we will need their strength to quell the new menace. Also keep in mind that this mission is strictly voluntary, so if for any- "

Before Lissa soon rose her hand up. "I volunteer to go!" She yelled out.

"Count me in as well!" Sully shouted as she examined her new knife spear.

"Don't think you're going anywhere without the Vaike now. You're going to need the Teach for this mission." Vaike spoke up with his super sledge on his shoulder.

"I'll go as well." Kellam spoke up but was unnoticed by everyone save for Marcus.

"I…I, um."

Chrom noticed that Sumia was a little nervous and soon asked her what was up. "Yes Sumia?"

"It's just that…I'm not quite sure I'm ready for proper mission yet. I'd probably get in the way." Sumia confessed.

"Well you could stay behind the main group, and if a battle is met just watch and learn. Your choice of course, but some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield." Chrom offered.

"Well…if you think it's wise captain." Sumia said shyly.

"Just stay by me and you'll be fine." Chrom smiled as Sumia blushed and quickly nodded in reply to that.

Both Marcus and Robin can only think one thing. 'She has it so bad for him.'

"Something on your minds Marcus, Robin?" Chrom asked as he saw Robin's thinking stance and Marcus's thoughtful look.

"Nothing/not really." Both Marcus and Robin replied at the same time.

"…Okay?" Chrom said a bit slowly before his eyes shined. "Ah, I remember there is something that I got for you Robin." Chrom said as He took out the sword that he was holding on him before he handed it to the tactician who looked at the blade curiously.

"What kind of blade is it?" She asked curiously.

"Unsheathe it." Chrom said with a smirk.

Robin slowly pulled the sword out to reveal a beautiful silver sword that felt incredibly deadly and rather light in her hands, before Robin gave a few swings and humming in appreciation.

"So, what kind of blade is that?" Marcus asked. "I've never seen a sword like that before." He commented.

"What Robin is holding is a silver sword, one of the most potent basic swords there are in the kingdom." Chrom explained as Marcus raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm assuming that it is not simple silver either considering that silver can be considered a soft metal and are rather impractical for weapons." Marcus commented as Chrom nodded at his answer.

"Indeed, this kind of silver is not the silver you would see in treasures or coins, but a rather enchanted silver so to say." Chrom detailed. "And I hope you like it Robin, I simply can't have my tactician just be using a simple steel sword, although that would make a good back up weapon." Chrom commented.

"Thank you Chrom, I have no idea what to say for such a generous gift." Robin said in awe.

"I do, I've seen you fight those bandits with your blade before you switched to your magic and that time I've seen you and Marcus work in tandem to defeat those Risen." Chrom said. "So how about a spar?" He asked.

Robin nodded and then Marcus spoke up. "Risen?" He questioned.

"It is what the council decided to call the monsters that have been appearing as of late." Chrom explained as Marcus simply nodded at that. "Why don't you spar with us as well Marcus? I've seen you use your killing edges to fight those Risen off easily." Chrom asked.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at what his katana blades were called but simply nodded and pulled one of them out from his Pipboy and walked to the training field where the three of them all unsheathed their blades.

"Question." Robin spoke up. "That's not a normal blade either, is it?" She asked as Chrom nodded.

"Indeed, this blade is called Falchion, a legendary sword passed down through my family forged from a fang of Naga herself used to defeat the Fell Dragon Grima long ago." Chrom explained before he turned to Marcus. "And it seems that we're not the only ones with potent blades either." Chrom commented upon seeing the blade on Marcus's sword.

Marcus simply chuckled at that. "You would be correct Chrom, this blade is not forged from steel." He said raising his katana to the sky. "This blade is made from Saturnite alloy, one of the toughest metals in my homeland. Its sharpness is that I had to have made several specialized sheaths for it as it can easily cut through rock without much effort." He explained as both Robin and Chrom whistled at the power of the sword he had.

"Well that's not fair at all." Robin pouted. "my mere silver sword against your legendary blade and your weird yet awesome sword." She complained as both men chuckled at her attitude.

"You are free to browse through my armory any time you like Robin." Marcus commented getting a smile from Robin but confusing Chrom somewhat but focused on the spar he's going to have with Robin.

"Not to mention you're a tactician, you'll figure something out to win somehow." Chrom said as Robin nodded.

Soon both Robin and Chrom got to the edge of the training field with Marcus in the middle acting as referee. "Now remember kids I want a nice clean match here, so no low blows or lethal blows." He said getting nods from the both of them before Marcus raised his sword upwards.

"Get ready…get set…" He said and soon Robin and Chrom were sweating a bit. "START!" Marcus barked out as Robin and Chrom charged at each other with their blades in hand.


	3. Marcus's Abilities

Marcus's SPECIAL, Perk, Traits, and Skills

S.P.E.C.I.A.L

Strength:10

Perception:7

Endurance:9

Charisma:7

Intelligence:8

Agility:7

Luck:4

Perks (Took a mod to make it so each Perk is gained every level.)

Intense Training Rank 9

Rapid Reload

Lady Killer

Comprehension

Gunslinger

Ferocious Loyalty

Shotgun Surgeon

Stonewall

Finesse

Educated

Bloody Mess

Toughness Rank 2

Pack Rat

Long Haul

Chemist

Light Step

Slayer

Strong Back

Here and Now

Animal Friend Rank 2

Math Wraith

Fast Metabolism

Life Giver

Sniper

Adamantium Skeleton

Jury Rigging

Action Boy Rank 2

Meltdown

Tag!

Concentrated Fire

Explorer

Grim Reaper's Sprint

Nerves of Steel

And Stay Back

Unstoppable Force

Burden to Bear

Piercing Strike

Junk Rounds

Thought you Died

Abominable Rank 3

Animal Control Rank 3

Beautiful Beatdown

Bug Stomper Rank 3

Camel of the Mojave

Free Radical

Lord Death Rank 3

Machine Head Rank 3

Melee Hacker Rank 3

Power Armor Training

Set Lasers for Fun Rank 2

Tough Guy

All 9 Implant Perks

Khan Trick

Ranger Takedown

Scribe Counter

Coin Operator

Ghost Hunter

Sierra Madre Martini

Cardiac Arrest!

Reinforced Spine

DNAgent

DNAvenger

Big Brained

Implant M-5

Implant Y-7

Implant C-13

Divide Survivor

Marked

Traits

Trigger Discipline

Skilled

Skills 

All Maxed Out


	4. Chapter 3

The Shepherd that volunteered to go on the mission all woke up and were readied and prepared to go. Marcus even made sure to let the others that were still sleepy to wake up to eat breakfast, earning grateful thanks from Stahl when it turns out that the man didn't even know about the mission. And the reason for that was because Vaike forgot to tell him. Marcus punished Vaike by taking away his super sledge and told him in no uncertain terms that until he learns how to be responsible he won't be using any of his gear then.

Vaike was left pouting on the entire trip, causing most of the Shepherds to have a good laugh at his expense and joked that Marcus should be the Teach instead, leaving him in an even worse mood. Meanwhile Marcus was walking behind Chrom and Robin, who were leading the expedition and Robin was rather sullen and pouting like a child. Which only got worse, every time she sees Chrom or Marcus and eye their swords enviously. Marcus simply sighed at Robin's childish behavior.

"Robin, can you stop being so sullen? You're making me worried about you." Marcus asked but got silence in return.

"Robin, is everything all right with you?" Chrom asked in concern as he saw the still sullen face of his tactician and only got silence as well.

"…Is it because we beat you rather quickly in swordplay without that much trouble on our part?" Marcus asked as he finally deduced the reason for why the tactician is acting the way she is right now.

"…Shut up." Was the mature response that Robin gave to the two men causing Chrom to chuckle and Marcus to raise his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, so this is what it's all about." Chrom said with a grin on his face. "Don't feel too bad for losing to me." Chrom said in consoling tone. "I'm rather strong and not a lot of people can face me so easily." He said as Robin crossed her arms and looked away.

"If it were just that then it would be fine but you two didn't try that hard against me and I lost to you so easily even when I gave it my all." She pouted out causing an amused grin to appear on Chrom who simply turned around and chuckled a bit. "It's not funny!" She shouted childishly.

"Robin." Marcus spoke up causing the tactician to turn to face him. "Keep in mind that Chrom has been fighting against bandits and the like for quite some time, expecting to defeat him when you don't even remember that much about yourself is asking a lot." Marcus explained.

"Then what about you?" Robin asked. "How come you beaten me so easily?" She asked curiously.

"First thing you have to know about my home is that while there are villages and towns and the like. The whole place as a whole is pretty uncivilized, there are bandits and raiders along the roads, wild animals hiding in place, monsters that prey on humans, and to be a Courier like I am. It means traveling through all these dangers and being able to overcome them." Marcus explained to Robin who was now focusing on what Marcus said instead of pouting. "There's a reason why nobody screws with the mailmen because we're the ones willing to travel through all that danger and we still managed to come out alive most of the time. The reason why you couldn't beat me was because I had experience of fighting foes for a long time." He finished.

Chrom hummed in thought as he heard that. "That would explain why you were able to match me for the most part." Chrom said in consideration as Marcus nodded.

"Back home there were a lot of nasty things around like I said." Marcus said before his face took on a deep scowl. "Including slavers." He said darkly.

Chrom and Robin looked angered and saddened by that. "Your home must really be uncivilized if slavers can roam so freely." Robin muttered before her eyes widened at what she said. "No offense meant or anything like that!" She said in a panic before Marcus laid an arm on one of her shoulders.

"I don't take any offense to that Robin." Marcus said with a sad smile on his face. "Sad fact is, my homeland is very uncivilized and I guess part of the reason why I traveled a lot was because of the pain I have to walk through or deal with." He said with a sigh.

Robin and Chrom looked at Marcus and they noticed that his posture was rather sad and there no ending amount of grief in them then Robin spoke without thinking. "You lost people to slavers, haven't you?" She asked startling Marcus out his self-pity.

"What?" Was all he asked.

Robin hesitated for a moment before she decided to continue on. "You've seen good people's lives lost or destroyed because of slavers, haven't you?" She asked.

For a moment, there was silence and Robin was afraid that she may have made it a bit personal but then Marcus sighed and spoke back.

"Back home one of the biggest threats was called Caesar's Legion, a band of raiders, killers, monsters, and slavers." Marcus soon spoke out. "And yeah, I had friends that had their lives destroyed because of slavers and I had my fair share of run ins with them." He admitted.

"They sound very brutal." Chrom said with a frown.

Marcus chuckled humorlessly. "Oh, you have no idea man, if there was something like a darkness in humanity then they epitomized every bad thing about humans as a whole." He said while clenching his fists.

"…I take it the first meeting with them went bad or something like that?" Robin asked.

Marcus snorted. "Bad is an understatement, try saying a damned mess after I found them after the aftermath of a massacre of a whole town in which they tortured people and crucified them before they took the survivors and played a sick game of mutilating them to death and then letting one survivor make out of there unscathed and the other one with a destroyed leg." He said making Chrom and Robin widened their eyes in horror at what was told.

"How could they do that?" Chrom said in anger as he gripped his sword.

"Caesar's Legion believes in the survival of the fittest and might makes right." Marcus explained. "They were considered one of the worst threats back home and I remembered the talk that I had the leader like it was yesterday." Marcus shivered a bit at that meeting. "I don't think I had ever been freaked out as badly as I was then considering the guy had no pity and even sounded joyful in what he accomplished."

"…Who was the leader of that party?" Robin asked warily.

"…Guy was called Vulpes he was the spy master of the legion, rumor has it that the whole of the legion is completely terrified of this guy because any cost is low cost." Marcus shook his head. "He was also one of the most monstrous people I ever had the displeasure of encountering, that guy burned a man alive and laughed."

Both Robin and Chrom looked horrifically repulsed by the man till Robin noticed something.

"Wait you mean to tell me you met the guy and stayed alive?" She asked in bewilderment as Marcus nodded. "How?" She asked.

"He only spared me because he wanted me to deliver a message that Caesar's Legion is coming." Marcus said darkly. "I didn't even stand a chance against him because I was recently recovering from some injuries and I was outnumbered and I called it foolishness to take him on." He explained.

"I can understand that feeling." Robin murmured as Chrom looked even more enraged and ready to kill him.

"Sad thing was, he wasn't even the worst guy I've encounter or killed back home." Marcus added in making the duo look back to him in shock.

"There were even worse people then this Vulpes?" Chrom asked in shock as Marcus nodded grimly. "Naga have mercy on your home." He prayed a bit.

"One of the worst monsters I ever killed was a guy called Cook Cook." Marcus said darkly. "That...THING was a raider and he killed using a flamethrower and burned people alive, but that wasn't the worst bit." He said as he took a deep breath. "Worse bit about him was that he was a serial rapist."

Both Robin and Chrom looked horrified and furiously appalled at that. "He was a rapist!" They nearly shouted attracting attention from the rest of the Shepherds that now listened in closely.

Marcus nodded grimly. "Aye, the bastard was a rapist, when I was taking up a job as a bounty hunter I was assigned to hunt his ass down and all that there was on the thing was that he was a raider that burned people alive and took the women alive to have his way with them. But that wasn't the worst part I came across, after I killed the son of a bitch, I found one of his personal logs and it told of three children slaves he bought from the legion, two girls and one boy. He took his time with the boy right in front of the girls before burning him alive and then he did the exact same thing to the girls with no remorse and called it a great score." He said darkly.

At that everyone looked horrified and repulsed that not even Frederick could hide his disgust and contempt and Lissa soon went behind a bush and vomited the contents of her breakfast when she heard that, Sully looked ready to slaughter something and Kellam opened his eyes and there was nothing but rage inside them. Robin and Chrom looked furious at what Marcus said.

"And if that wasn't the worst part, I believe he was also a cannibal as well." Marcus added in as an afterthought and this time everyone went green and struggled to held back their stomachs while Lissa continued to vomit a bit more. "Needless to say, even before I learned of what he did I had plans for that bastard." He said with a dark grin.

"…What did you do?" Robin asked.

"Best if you don't learn of it but needless to say I made sure to make his ending as both emotionally and physically painful as possible." Marcus said ending the talk there.

"...So, did you serve in the army of something?" Chrom quickly asked trying to change the subject from the topic of Cook Cook. "It would help explain your skills and advanced gear." He said thoughtfully.

Marcus shook his head. "Nah, I didn't serve in the army of the NCR, but I did do good by them a lot that they considered me to be a hero in their community and I was able to fight alongside some of their best fighters and considered me to be one of them." He said with a proud grin. "The NCR Rangers were some of the finest soldiers in Nevada and they considered me to be one of them even though I was technically a civilian." He said fondly.

"Rangers…" Chrom said thoughtfully. "So, in a way they could be considered like us Shepherds?" He asked.

Marcus shook his head. "No, they are recruited from the best of the NCR military and even then, 80% do not finish training and drop out. This training is not restricted to the male gender as women can be Rangers too, and it's not uncommon for them to do so with success." He replied as everyone's eyes went wide at the high dropout rate.

"Damn they sound really tough!" Sully whistled out in impression as Marcus smiled when he heard that yell.

"Tough is putting it too lightly, each Ranger can be considered a one-man army and I've seen them annihilated dozens upon dozens of foes with ease as well." Robin said fondly with a smile upon remembering The Second Battle of Hoover Dam when Rangers, Paladins, Enclave Remnants, and Boomers took on the legion and annihilated them with ease.

"Heh, they sound like the heroes of the old, like the Hero King Marth or the Blazing Hero Roy, Or Radiant Hero Ike, or maybe the Blade Princess Lyn." Chrom said with a chuckle upon hearing Marcus say that. "Or maybe the Genius Tactician of Hector and Eliwood: Mark."

At that Marcus perked up a bit. "Mark, you say?" Marcus questioned.

"Indeed, do you know of the tales of Tactician Mark? He was said to have been a legendary strategist that countries actually went to war for his skill." Chrom explained.

Marcus shook his head. "Nah, nothing like that. It's just that I know of a Mark back home but he wasn't native to home." Marcus explained as he remembered fondly of the Lone Wanderer that he heard tales when he traveled around the Capital Wasteland at one point and struck up a friendship with his former friends. 'Now that I think about it, his gang did say that he vanished nearly a decade ago, wonder what happened to him?' Marcus thought.

"I'm afraid we will have to delay story time a little longer." Virion shouted. "For now, it seems the treacherous Risen are now ready to get in our way." He said pointing to said Risen shambling after the group.

"Gods, have the Risen spread this far already?" Chrom exclaimed as he drew Falchion from its scabbard. "Robin! We need a battle strategy now!" He shouted.

Robin quickly nodded and head forward to examine the details of the battle before she shouted to the group. "Okay everyone, before we fight keep in mind that these creatures are dangerous and don't have the same strength limitations as humans do, remember that!" She shouted.

Vaike just laughed instead of taking Robin seriously. "They'll remember me once I drive my axe into their…wait…" Vaike said before checking his sides and his everywhere. "my axe, the hell did my axe go." He muttered.

Marcus just looked at him in disbelief as he put on his helmet, feeling he's losing brain cells the more and more he interacts with Vaike. "You have got to me kidding me." He deadpanned.

"YOU FORGOT YOUR WEAPON YOU MORON?" Robin screeched at Vaike in anger.

"I swear I just had it!" Vaike shouted as he looked around.

Marcus sighed and went into his Pipboy and pulled out a fire axe and threw it to a surprised Vaike as he looked around for the damned axe but didn't see it. It was also at this point he noticed that Miriel wasn't around either and wondered where did the woman go.

"Make do with that for now Vaike and I swear if you somehow lose that I'm going to sew your mouth shut and your axe to your hand from now on." He said as he glared at Vaike who was nodding rather quickly before Marcus turned to Robin. "The plan Robin?" He asked.

Robin nodded. "All right, Stahl!" She called out to the knight. "Since you're a cavalier like Sully, you two pair up and keep yourselves on the offensive." She said getting a nod from Stahl as the man's eye sharpened.

"You got it boss!" Sully called out as she rode away with Stahl in line muttering something about being thankful for being woken up by Marcus so he could fight on a full stomach.

Robin then turned to the next pair. "Sumia and Chrom fight together, that way she can get the experience and your weapon's range can help cover Chrom, okay?" She said getting a nod from the pink armored knight and a determined look from Chrom.

"I, I'll do what I can." Sumia said as she gripped her spear tightly.

Robin then turned to the next pair. "Frederick and Lissa you two team up, Frederick your defense is strong and solid so be sure to protect Lissa at all times and Lissa if Frederick overextends himself and gets hurt make sure you heal him and have Frederick escort you around the battlefield healing those that needs your healing." Robin ordered.

Frederick nodded. "I will protect milady with my life." He said resolutely.

Then Robin turned to the next one. "Virion, take to the hills and get some distance and snipe all those Risen down." Robin ordered before Marcus whispered something into her ears making her eyes go wide before she spoke up again. "And Kellam go with him so he can be protected from any Risen that gets too close to him." She quickly added in.

"Thanks for remembering me Marcus." Kellam said gratefully causing Marcus to only nod in his direction.

"Marcus you're with me, I like our teamwork in the last battle unless you plan on changing up weapons again?" She asked as Marcus pulled out Knock. Knock. "Okay so you can use axes as well let see how we can work with that." Robin said to herself.

"Hey! What about me?" Vaike demanded before Robin looked over to him with an unamused look on her face.

"You? You will be stay with us you idiot!" Robin scolded as she slapped Vaike upside the head. "Since you clearly can't keep track of your weapons you're not going out there unless you have a responsible partner looking after you." She said getting some grumbling from Vaike.

"All right then, is that it Robin?" Marcus asked as he casually swung his axe with a simple twirl.

Robin nodded. "All right then move out!" She ordered as everyone started getting to work on their foe.

Sully and Stahl were working wonderfully in tandem but more importantly, Sully got to test out her new weapon. And to her utter joy it simply cut through armor like it was nothing and was soon cackling at her effective weapon while Stahl proved to be rather skillful in his horse usage in that he managed to make it jump up to avoid swings, trample foes and even stuck out a leg so fast that he sent a Risen tumbling into other Risen before the two riders trampled them down.

Frederick was doing an admirable job of protecting Lissa as he swung his lance at the Risen with ease as Lissa was running around trying to heal everyone as fast as she could. Sumia managed to use her weapon's range to cover Chrom as he went in for the kill on each Risen and managed to use their weapon's range to their advantage to cover each other and preventing the Risen from gaining an edge on them. Virion was doing fine as he sniped down each Risen archer that arrived and leadership cast type as well. While Kellam was doing fantastic as a protector and shield that the Risen kept on running into and fell back and got smashed by his shield and spear for their efforts.

Meanwhile Marcus and Robin did an superb job of protecting each other as Marcus swung his axe with a single hand that either killed the Risen or crippled them that was followed by Robin killing the remaining stragglers and when there was no more Risen in the immediate proximity, Robin pulled out her lighting tome and used it to blast the Risen that were far away as the Risen that got close were taken care of by Marcus as he even expertly disarmed one Risen of its blade and took it before he threw it to the side just as Miriel approach who saw the blade coming with wide eyes before it passed her and slammed into a Risen that managed to sneak up behind her.

"Fancy see you there Miriel." Marcus commented as though he didn't almost kill her just now.

Miriel nodded and was back to her normal self. "Indeed, I was studying a rare form of flora then I noticed I was late and I also picked up what appears to be an axe." Miriel commented as she pulled out…Vaike's axe.

Marcus just sighed as he motioned for Vaike to come forth and take his weapon as Marcus got his other axe back.

"Thanks for returning my axe Miriel!" Vaike said loudly.

"…I see…I had wonder what fool would mislay their weapon and now I know." She said calmly as Marcus could tell that she was as amused as he was when he found out. "Perhaps next time I shall use a spell to fasten it to your hand…permanently." She said as her eyes gleamed darkly.

"Eh…no need for that Miriel." Vaike said sweating heavily at that as Marcus had a nice chuckle over that. Oh yes, he could tell he was going to like Miriel just fine. Before his thoughts were interrupted by Robin who slipped by.

"Nice to see you Miriel." Robin chimed in as Miriel simply nodded. "Okay since you got here that means you're partnering up with Vaike, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, now will you?" Robin asked/ordered as Miriel nodded and Vaike squawked in protest at how he's being treated.

"So, we continue current course of action?" Marcus asked as he did a duel downward cut on a Risen with his two axes now before Robin nodded, causing him to smirk. "Then let's continue this cleanup then." He replied as Robin nodded and followed him into battle.

* * *

( **Much Later** )

Soon the Shepherds finished exterminating all the Risen within the area and Chrom gave everyone a break for them to catch their breath or to heal their wounds. During that time, Marcus went up to Robin to check up on how their tactician was doing.

"Hey Robin, how you're doing?" Marcus asked in Robin was sitting down leaning against a rock.

"Not too bad in my opinion, but it could be better." She admitted. "What about you though?" She asked looking at Marcus.

"Perfectly fine actually, been in tougher fights before." Marcus commented as Robin laughed a little bit at that.

"Right, forgot I was talking to someone who comes from a very dangerous place." Robin said with a smile but it dimmed upon coming across a certain thought. Hey Marcus." She called out.

"Yeah?" Marcus asked as he pulled out two of his cleansed knife spears and started twirling them around.

"You ever wonder where they came from?" She asked as Marcus tilted his head in confusion.

"They?" he parroted back to Robin.

"The Risen." She replied. "I mean they had to have come from somewhere. What do you think created them?" She asked Marcus who simply shrugged.

"You're asking the wrong person Robin, I don't understand magic or how corpses could possibly come back to life." Marcus explained truthfully.

Robin sighed as she heard that. "Guess I was demanding too much hoping you would know the answer, sorry Marcus." Robin apologized.

"Don't worry, it's not much trouble." Marcus stated kindly. "But chances are that mysterious warrior called Marth might know." He added in as an afterthought.

"Marth…" Robin said in thought. "Do you think Marth might have a connection with what's going on?" She asked as Marcus shook his head.

"I don't think so, think Marth's trying to prevent something from happening, but chances are that brat's going to be fucking cryptic." He grumbled.

"We'll figure it out Marcus, just have to wait." She said as she got up and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Marcus smiled. "I like those odds." He oddly replied before they heard a sound coming from somewhere. "Sounds like an animal." Marcus said as he pulled out his katana blade as He rushed to where the sound was coming from as Robin followed suit.

Soon they made it past some trees and Marcus couldn't help but whistle a bit. "Well I'll be damned, a winged horse." Marcus commented as he examined the beast closer and saw that it was wounded. "Poor fellow might have been wounded by the Risen beforehand." Marcus said.

As soon as he finished saying that Chrom and Sumia soon appeared and saw the poor Pegasus wounded. "Oh, my look at that poor Pegasus." Sumia said with a gasp as she slowly approached the scared beast and slowly and gently calmed it down.

"Nice horsey there." Marcus said as he started approaching the Pegasus causing Sumia to widen her eyes in panic.

"Marcus! Don't…get…any…" Sumia soon shouted but faded and eventually died as the Pegasus was not reacting at all to Marcus's presence but in fact, welcomed him if the kisses she was giving was an indicator. "…How?" She asked to herself.

Marcus simply laughed at the Pegasus's affectionate behavior. "Don't know how it is with these adorable animals but you can say that I'm a bit of animal friend." He said with a smirk.

But Sumia shook her head. "But that's the problem! Pegasus prefer women to men, they never get along with them unless another woman is with them!" Sumia yelled as the Pegasus snorted at that.

Marcus simply shrugged. "What can I say? Animals can't hate the animal lover." He said with a grin.

Sumia deflated at that response. "I give up." She muttered before she and Chrom had another talk that Marcus didn't care much for so he left with Robin.

"So, what do you think Longfort is going to be like?" Robin asked.

"Who know? We'll see it when we get there." Marcus replied as Robin nodded as Chrom quickly caught up with them to let them know Sumia is staying back with the Pegasus to tend its wounds.

(Close to Longfort)

"Good Naga it's so cold!" Lissa complained as she shivered in the cold and she wasn't the only one shivering in the cold, practically almost all the Shepherds clung to their bodies for warmth and Vaike couldn't say anything due to lack of clothes he had.

The only ones that were actually comfortable in the cold were Marcus and Robin, the former was because of how he grew up and survived the nuclear winter and had a very well insulated suit of armor. While Robin's cloak provided a lot of warmth and protection from the cold surprisingly.

"Milady, like I said, you can simply take shelter behind my horse." Frederick replied calmly.

"No way! Plus, it gets smelly there so it kind of scares me." Lissa said as she shivered her teeth.

"Lady Lissa, I assure you my horse has never done such a thing. I have trained it to be the most disciplined horse in the entire realm." Frederick said proudly.

"Think I'll pass." Lissa deadpanned before she turned to Marcus. "Say Marcus, do you have another one of those dusters and something to help keep me warm?" She asked innocently.

"Lissa, there are other ways to keep warm." Chrom scolded gently though deep down he wondered if Marcus did have something that could help with the blasted cold as well.

"Actually, I do have something that can help." Marcus spoke up as Marcus pulled another duster out of his Pipboy and a pepper of some kind which he handed both to Lissa, who quickly wrapped herself up in the duster. "The duster should help but the pepper should be even more helpful." Marcus explained as Lissa gingerly took a bite out of it and felt her temperature rising and she devoured the whole thing and felt warm now.

"Ah thank you Marcus." Lissa said with a grateful smile as Chrom blinked in surprise.

"That was rather nice of you to do Marcus." Robin said with a smile as Marcus shrugged.

"Lissa reminded me of one of friends from back home in just how cheerful she was, just seeing her shivering and sad feels wrong in all honesty." Marcus explained.

"It was still nice of you to do, so thank you for watching after my sister." Chrom said as Marcus nodded before he saw a large wall ahead of him. "It seems we're out the Longfort now."

"So, this is the place." Robin questioned before she took notice of the guards taking positions who noticed them.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A woman in large armor shouted as she glared down at the Shepherds.

"In the name of House Ylisse, I have come seeking audiences with the Khans!" Chrom shouted.

The woman scoffed. At him. "Yes, and I'm the Queen of Valm! You do realize that impersonating royals is a capital offense?" She retorted.

"How dare you!" Frederick shouted in outrage. "Before you stand the Crown Prince of Ylisse, Prince Chrom!" He shouted.

"Please good lady, if you would just listen!" Chrom shouted as he tried to reason with the woman.

"Ha! I heard enough! Attack!" She ordered as the soldiers threw their javelins at Chrom as Marcus and Robin sprinted to him in a panic before he was suddenly swooped away causing them to look up to see it was Sumia who saved Chrom.

"Good Job Sumia!" Marcus praised as he turned to Robin. "Plan Tactician?" He asked.

Robin nodded. "Same teams as before but try not to kill any of them we don't need complications from this misunderstanding." She pleaded with the rest of the Shepherds who simply nodded.

Marcus simply took out Dinner Bell and loaded it with beanbag rounds. "All right then, let's go now." He replied as the Shepherds scattered.

Marcus simply headed in one direction followed by Robin, Frederick, and Lissa as he simply passed by the guards with ease as he simply used his nonlethal round to knock them out flat on their back after he shot them in the head and soon came across one door that was locked and looked to the rest of the group with a calm look.

"Door's locked guys." He replied getting groans from everyone.

"Well that's terrific so what do we do now?" Robin groused out as Marcus simply pulled out a pick and pin. "...Oh." Was all Robin could say as Marcus got to working on unlocking the door, which was done in less than a minute. "Come on! We got to hurry, no telling how our favorite Prince and clumsy Pegasus Knight will last up there!" Robin said with a hint of urgency as Marcus took the lead.

This time he took out a cattle prod and Paladin Toaster and when he saw the first guardsman, he instantly jabbed him with the prod and ended up shocking him for a few seconds till he was out of it then ducked as another guardsman swung his sword at him and punched him full in the face with his zap glove and knocked that one out by shocking him as well.

Soon the group busted out of the tower onto the wall where Sumia was flying around to avoid the archers while Chrom was being ganged up by the guardsmen. Soon Robin and Marcus took instant action and Marcus shot down all he could with his Dinner Bell before he ran out then he put it back in his Pipboy as he took the cattle prod he had and replaced the Paladin Toaster with it for another cattle prod.

"Hey dodge this!" Robin shouted as she fired a bolt of electricity at a lower voltage that stunned a trio of guardsmen as Marcus ran up and knocked them all out with blows from his prods as he got behind Chrom who smiled at the reinforcements.

"Let's even the odds here kay?" Marcus said as Chrom nodded and both warriors ran up to face the guardsmen as Robin took out the Archers with her magic as Marcus simply sidestepped all the guardsmen and stunned them at least once with his prods causing them to go out of it and making mistakes that caused harm to their own before he stepped back and saw another group of guardsmen rushing to ambush them.

Marcus simply scoffed at what they're trying to do. "Numbers have no meaning on me." He said calmly as he pulled out a flashbang and threw it right at their feet before he turned away. Then he heard the muffled blast and a bright flash of light causing him to turn around to see all of the reinforcement knocked out. "Flashbangs are so freaking useful." He muttered.

Soon he caught up with the rest of the Shepherds that have convened on the captain of the guards and she laughed a bit. "So, all of you have some steel and valor to make it here." She said before she raised her spear and twirled it. "So, defeat me and I will see the validity of what you say is true!" She shouted.

"If that's the case than I challenged- "Chrom started to shout only for Miriel to walk past him leaving him surprised. "Miriel? What are you doing?" He asked.

Miriel simply turned around to look at him with a calm look on her face. "While I know, you would prefer to fight her yourself, however she did attack you, my captain." She said before her voice got darker. "That is simply unforgivable, especially since they were in the wrong in the first place." She said as she pulled out her own thunder tome. "So please, Chrom allow me this." She asked.

Chrom looked somewhat conflicted. "…You sure you can win?" He asked as Miriel nodded. "Then go for it." He said as he stepped back as Miriel stepped up to challenge

"Who do you think is going to win?" Robin asked Marcus as she stepped back watching the duel.

"Miriel will." Marcus replied as Robin looked to her for an answer. "The captain is clad in heavy armor making her ideal for taking on most swordsmen and possibly mounted units but that also limits her mobility and provides her no defense against Miriel's thunder, if anything it makes her more vulnerable." He stated as Robin nodded.

True to Marcus's words Miriel basically ran circles around the captain and simply left her a sizzling crisp when she was done with her.

As soon as Miriel finished Chrom step up. "Peace captain! We are not here to fight you!" He tried again but was soon surprised the woman smiled and laughed a bit.

"The amount of energy your mage showed that she really did care about you and I cannot deny the validity of your actions now. For that I give a thousand apologies." The captain said as she bowed to him.

"Well that was a bit sudden." Marcus muttered to the side.

"Anyways, I am Raimi, and I will send word to the capital and escort you there myself." She added in. As Chrom nodded thankfully for that.

As Chrom and Raimi were discussing the important things Marcus went up to Sumia. "Got to say there, didn't know you could fly like that." Marcus complimented as Sumia blushed at that.

"Well of course I know how to do that, I am a Pegasus Knight after all." Sumia replied. "But I am nowhere near as good as my best friend who is working elsewhere." She stated.

That perked Marcus's interest. "Oh? Who is this knight?" He asked.

"Her name's Cordelia and she is possibly one of the finest Pegasus Knights that Ylisse has ever seen and a formidable warrior." Sumia said with pride.

Eventually the two talked about Cordelia for a bit till Marcus and Sumia talked about Marcus's ability to work with Pegasuses until they had to leave. Marcus had to admit, this has been the most fun misadventure he has ever been on.


	5. Chapter 4

Soon the Shepherds were lead into the Regna Ferox throne room by Raimi before she excused herself to retrieve the Kahn. Thus, the Shepherds were left with nothing to do while they waited for the Kahn's arrival. Something that understandably left some of the Shepherds a bit stir-crazy.

Chrom was pacing around the room a bit not being able to stay still with worried thoughts on how to proceed in gaining the aid of the Kahn to help protect his homeland and worried about disappointing his sister in what might be his first mission in negotiations and diplomacy.

Frederick was standing perfectly still and waited for any possible orders to move or do something from Chrom and didn't even look perturbed in the least at the waiting time.

Robin was standing looking over the Book of Naga trying to figure out how the tome work and tried to make the tome react to her. But she was having no such luck, leaving her frustrated at the lack of effort she was making in her use of the tome and sighed in frustration before she put it away.

Marcus simply took a spot near the walls and sat down and leaned on it with seemingly no care in the world but everyone knew that Marcus was in a position to spring out and instantly react. He also found that Lissa has decided to copy him as well, amusing him to no end and gaining no end of smiles at how they saw that the little princess tried to imitate the Courier in his pose.

The rest of the Shepherds were outside waiting for any news from the core group so to say.

Soon the waiting period ended when a tanned woman with blonde hair walked into the throne room without a care in the world and soon the main group of Shepherds all got up to say hello to newcomer. Which all of them guessed to be the Khan, as soon the woman spoke to them.

"Greetings Shepherds, I am Khan Flavia of the East, welcome to Regna Ferox." She greeted. "My apologies for the troubles you and your band faced at the borders, you are welcomed here in Regna Ferox." Flavia apologized.

"Thank you, Khan I am okay that we can place this misunderstanding behind us. Is it really true that bandits have been posing as my countrymen while ransacking your border villages?" Chrom asked diplomatically.

"Yes, those damned Plegian dogs seem intent on raising misunderstandings between our nation if it weren't for the fact that when we looked through their corpses we saw the false documentations." Khan Flavia spat out in anger and disgust.

Marcus simply raised an eyebrow at what he heard. 'It seems that this Plegia is calling out for war for some time and is even willing to start false flag operations to get their war.' Marcus thought to himself as he sighed and shook his head. "Wretched scum." He sighed out loud.

Chrom looked appalled at what Marcus said, saying these kinds of words in front of the Khan. "Marcus!" He called out in alarm before he turned back to Flavia who simply laughed at that.

"Not the words I use to describe them but hey close enough." She said before she turned to Chrom with a grin. "Don't worry about your friend's course tongue, out here in Regna Ferox, we prefer our plain speech." She said with a grin.

"…I see." Was all Chrom could say.

"At any rate, I know why you come here prince. And sadly, I will not be able to provide any of my soldiers at this time." Flavia said as she shook her head as Chrom looked devastated and the rest of the group grimaced at the unexpected surprise.

"What?! Why not?" Lissa yelled out.

"I lack the authority to do so." Flavia explained.

"Beg pardon, but aren't you the Khan around here." Chrom asked.

"I'm one of the Khans here but in Ferox, the Khans of the East and West hold a tournament every few years. The tournament also determines who will gain total control of both kingdoms and that means they have the final say in forging alliances." Flavia explained.

"And I'm assuming that the West Khan managed to won the last one?" Robin asked calmly.

Flavia nodded. "Smart one that lass." She complimented making Robin blush. "So, as you can see I'm afraid I can't do anything right now. Unless you people are willing to do something for me." She said with a grin.

"Let me guess, you want us to fight in the tournament for you as your representatives or the likes?" Marcus deduced following the track of this conversation with no problem at all.

Flavia nodded in response to that. "Smart one you are, and yes. It just so happens that the tournament to determine the leader of Regna Ferox is in about two days and I would like your help in claiming total control." She replied.

"But, why are you asking us to fight for you though?" Chrom asked.

"Raimi saw what you were all capable back at the borders and thought that you lot would be more than fit to be my champions. So, what do you say prince? Want to be one of my champions in the upcoming tournament and get your nation the alliance it needs and help me get total control?" Flavia asked with a smirk.

"…Are there any rules in the tournament?" Chrom asked after some deliberation.

"The Khans themselves do not fight, only with champions they pick to represent them, otherwise our land would be filled with blood feuds and dead Khans. So, for that very reason we do not include comrades in arms or people close to the Khans, and that is why outsiders have been our champions for so long." Flavia said calmly.

Chrom nodded. "We will fight, if being your champion is the quickest way to securing the alliance then so be it." He said confidently.

"Heh! I like you boy, but before we get started. I'm afraid you can't take your entire group with you, however you can pick up to about two additional members to be assist you and act as you second and third." Flavia added in.

"In that case, I pick Marcus and Robin to be my members." Chrom responded getting a nod from Marcus and a shocked look from Robin.

"Chrom! Don't you think you will be better served by having Frederick besides you unlike me?" She asked.

"Not at all." And at that Marcus smirked as he heard a bit of a whimper from the great knight himself. "You two are among our finest fighters and I would have no one else watching my back." He said confidently to the two.

"We won't let you down boss." Marcus said as he raised up his arms for both Robin and Chrom to grasp and they did so looking confidently at each other.

"If that is all then." Chrom said as he turned to the Khan who simply looked amused at the trio. "We will take our leave and rest now." He said as the Shepherds left to rest from the long trip.

* * *

(One of the Inns)

"Man!" Marcus groaned out as he took a dip into the hot water. "This is some good stuff here." He said appreciatively as he looked around this place called a hot spring and felt incredibly relaxed.

As soon as the group was finished, Flavia set them up with lodgings at one of the best places for them to stay at as her champions and soon the Shepherds were relaxing and Marcus was among the many male Shepherds here in the hot springs as the females were on the other side of an oversized bamboo wall, if the giggling and splashing were anything to go by.

"I know what you mean Marcus." Chrom said as he waded through the water and sat next to Marcus. "I didn't know just how sore I was until I got in here." He groaned out as he cracked his limbs a bit.

Marcus nodded at that. "I've been traveling for a bit now and I only really stopped to rest and recover but never actually indulge in something like this." He said calmly while leaving out the fact that there was no such place for him to do something like this.

"Ha such a wonderful relaxing sensation!" Virion cried out from across the pool of hot water they were in. "Truly while this place may seem uncivilized they do know how to deliver creature comforts and warm the hearts!" He said as he poured himself a cup of wine and drank it.

Marcus blinked a bit before he continued talking to Chrom. So, what do you think Stahl, Vaike, and Kellam are doing right now?" He asked as Frederick was at one stall with his spear leaning on the wall waiting for any possible assassin to harm Chrom.

"Stahl's probably indulging in the dinner they provided here, while Vaike might be training, and as for Kellam." Chrom shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea." He said.

Marcus simply nodded at that. "Well hopefully Vaike doesn't do anything stupid that could get us booted out." He said as Chrom nodded before he got an idea in his head.

"Say Marcus, what do you think the girls are doing or talking about in there?" He said slyly as he pointed to the other side of the wall.

Marcus sighed. "Chrom buddy, let me tell you something. We are better off not knowing and if we try to eavesdrop on them, chances are they might kick your ass if they find out. but since we're the only ones here that means they will kick all of our asses." He replied with a warning.

"Still though you have to wonder what it is they might be doing." Chrom said with a contemplative glance.

( **At the same time in the woman's side.** )

"So, when are you going to finally confess to the captain Sumia?" Sully asked bluntly as she pour a bucket of hot water over herself. "You got all this time and you still haven't asked him out yet." She added.

Sumia blushed and recoiled at that. "It's not like that!" She cried out. "I just don't know…how to go about it." She said as she poked her fingers together.

"It's super easy Sumia." Lissa said causing her to jump a bit at how close the princess was to her. "My brother is super dense and thick as a brick wall so all you need to do is confess to him and that's it." She said cheerfully.

"Lissa!" Sumia protested. "I told you it's not that simple!" She protested heavily.

Near to them Robin simply sighed as her hair flow freely around her. "I don't understand why you're talking about this, it's kind of pointless of Chrom doesn't know and Sumia doesn't work up the courage to confess to him correct?" She asked before she poured some of the hot water on her face and sighing in content.

Sully snorted at that. "Not interested in boys I guess?" She asked as Robin went silent before she smirked. "So how tactician does have someone in mind, mind telling me who is it?" She asked coyly as Robin's face went a little bit red at what Sully said to her.

"I don't have anyone that I am interested in seeing." Robin retorted. "Besides I met most of you guys just a couple of days ago so I don't really know you guys well enough." She added in.

"So, you're saying none of the guys here caught your interest?" Sully asked curiously. "What about Chrom? He's a pretty neat guy." She asked as Sumia pursed her lips together at that.

Robin shook her head. "Sorry Sully, while I can see why some would go for him, he isn't my type. I get the feeling that he's rather more brawns than brains in my opinion." She said.

"How about Stahl? He's a pretty neat guy to talk to and hang out with." Sully asked once again.

"I barely know the guy and he seems rather…average so to say." Robin replied as gently as she could about Stahl but really, she didn't even talk to him that much and not much to talk about.

"Kellam?" Sully asked.

"I don't even know where he is most of the time and that's only when Marcus is helping me out by telling me where he is." Robin said.

"Vaike." Sully asked with a grin knowing that Vaike isn't really the most desirable guy to be around.

At that Robin let out a booming laugh. "Gods Sully that was hilarious but no, Vaike has far too few brain cells for my taste so moving on." She said.

"Frederick?" Sully added in.

Hearing his name made Robin scowl a bit. "No thank you, stick in the mud accused me and Marcus of being untrustworthy even after we helped out in saving a town and I rescued his sorry butt from the Risen when we first met them." She grumbled in annoyance.

"Virion?" She asked only to get a "Are you freaking serious?!" look from Robin as she raised her hands up in surrender. "Right, right ruffles was a bad idea got it." She admitted, as she couldn't even stand one minute with ruffles much less an hour.

"Let's face it, there's no one that I'm currently interested in right now Sully." Robin replied as she sighed and leaned back into the water.

Sully thought about that before her eyes lighten up at one last guy. "Well what about Marcus? He's a pretty cool guy." Sully asked.

And there was the reaction as Robin's eyes widened a bit at the mention of Marcus before she gained a contemplative glance. "Well he does seem to have a good head on his body." Robin admitted. "Not to mention he is rather nice and fun to talk and hang out around as well." She said before she blushed remembering a certain mailman defending her and himself from a rather suspicious knight even though he didn't have to do anything for her and could have left her.

"Well, well!" Sully crowed out with a massive grin on her face causing Robin to jerk out of her thoughts. "Seems our mighty tactician does have an eye for our mailman." She teased jokingly.

Robin didn't even dignify that with a response and sank lower into the water while blushing.

"Well I think you got a chance with Marcus." Lissa said as she jumped into the conversation and then hugging Robin all of a sudden. "I mean you do spend the most amount of time with him out of everyone else I've seen here." She added in.

"I must say Robin." Miriel spoke up all of a sudden with the same stoic expression on her face. "Do you know anything about the projectile weapons that Marcus has used in the battle against the guards?" She asked. "I have never seen a more unusual and yet surprisingly effective weapon capable of knocking targets out." She said.

Lissa just smiled. "Oh, that's nothing to what I've seen him do with that weapon." Lissa spoke out as she started to explain. "From what Marcus told me about the rounds he used in the battle against the guards, he used some specialized nonlethal projectiles to knock out his targets." She started off. "But in the battle against the Risen when they first appeared, I think he was using its lethal variants and used it to shoot down quite a number of Risen down with ease and with one shot." She said to the astonishment of all the female Shepherds there, save for Miriel who looked more intrigued than anything.

"Damn!" Sully whistled out. "Marcus's been holding out on us. We could have used those weapons to eliminate all the Risen we encountered along the way here." She commented.

Only for Robin to shook her head. "That's what I thought as well, but the problem according Marcus is that doesn't have the means to make any more of the projectiles used due to lacking the ingredients to make them and he can only use them once, so there's no chance of recovering the projectiles like what archers can do." She explained. "So according to him, it is best used for emergencies."

"Meh." Sully replied as she leaned back and sighed a bit in relaxation. "If Marcus does have those kinds of weapons it means we automatically get kind of a Plan B if things don't go as expected, then right?" She asked as Robin nodded hesitantly. "Then until Marcus feels more comfortable talking about his gear then we leave him alone about it." She said before Sully gained a serene look on her face. "Everybody's entitled to their own secrets after all."

Lissa and Miriel blinked at Sully when she said that. "That was rather philosophical of you to say Sully." Miriel said soon after as Sully just shrugged at that.

"I am a Knight after all Miriel, so as much as I don't want to I do know some philosophy as part of my training and part of my family welfare and schooling after all." Sully explained calmly.

"Ah." Miriel hummed in understanding. "Still, I would like to inspect his weapons myself seeing how different they are from most conventional weapons and how advanced they are." She said to herself.

"Maybe you could ask Marcus and get his permission to examine his weapons?" Lissa suggested from her spot.

"Perhaps I could." Miriel admitted. "But do you think he would allow me to inspect his weapons?" She asked calmly.

"Who knows?" Lissa said as she shrugged in response to what Miriel asked about being able to inspect Marcus's weapons.

Meanwhile, Robin was sitting in silent contemplation about Marcus. Like her, he was also an unknown that comes from an unusual background. While Marcus may have talked about his home, he never actually talked about himself until that time he told them about the monsters he had encountered back home.

'Just who are you Marcus?' Robin thought to herself.

* * *

(Two Days Later for the Tournament)

During the two days that the Shepherds stayed in the hospitality of Flavia; Marcus, Robin, and Chrom trained and sparred with various Shepherd members to prepare themselves as best as they can in preparation for the tournament. With the various Shepherds being able to push Robin on equal grounds, constantly losing to Chrom, and losing to Marcus due to being creative.

Such as the one time when he was sparring against Virion, he simply walked to him calmly and dodged dulled arrows firing at him just a moment's breath away. With Kellam, he simply outran the armored man and simply used his unarmed prowess to knock him down. With Sully and Vaike he casually deflected their spears and caused their horses to panic a bit causing them to fall off and hit the ground with Marcus's blade at their necks. Vaike was beaten with a clever usage of Marcus's unusually shaped axe and pulled the axe from Vaike's grasp. Fredrick simply charged at Marcus with his lance, only for Marcus to grab the lance and simply flipped Frederick off his horse with ease. That last one still got the Shepherds stunned at how fast he accomplished it and how strong Marcus might be really.

But all in all, the trio of Shepherds felt more than adequately prepared even when the odds were against them with the West Khan's seven warriors facing against their three, numbers meant little to experienced and well-trained warriors and Robin was more than confident in Chrom and Marcus's prowess.

"Feeling nervous you two?" Chrom asked the other two as they waited outside the arena.

Robin nodded her ea. "Definitely nervous." She admitted. "But being nervous also means heightened senses as well and that can help me out in this fight." She added in.

"Fought in tournaments before, against vicious animals, so nothing new really." Marcus said as he remembered fighting in red Lucy's Thorn fondly as he tore his way through the mutated monstrosities with ease.

"Well time to buckle up because now we need to get going." Chrom said as the two nodded and followed him through the dark hallway where they heard the sounds of lots of cheering which only got louder as they get closer to the arena.

"AND NOW HAILING FROM YLISSE, ARE THE PROTECTORS OF THE KINGDOM THEMSELVES!" The announcer roared out. "GIVE IT UP FOR THE SHEPHERDS!" He shouted as people roared out in excitement.

The trio were in awe of the amount of people that were here and the sounds of cheering they got. "Okay, this makes everything I've gone through at tournaments look like nothing." Marcus admitted as the other two snickered a bit at that.

"To be fair, Regna Ferox has one of the biggest arenas in the world." Chrom said kindly.

"Hey, doesn't he look familiar?" Robin spoke out as seven warriors came out with the seventh being a familiar warrior that aided and gave them a cryptic warning now staring at them intently.

"Marth!" Chrom said in surprise as he went wide eyed at his appearance.

"Well now, isn't this a happy reunion?" Marcus sarcastically said as he pulled out his swords. "How do you want to do this Robin?" He asked waiting for orders.

Robin looked at the fighters for a moment before she spoke. "Okay, Chrom I want you to focus on Marth while me and Robin face the other six warriors, Marth seems to be our greatest threat for now." She said as Chrom nodded. "As for the three I want you to face, can you deal with the knight, cavalier, and swordsman to our left?" She asked as Marcus nodded.

"Okay then, so that means you will handle the two mercenaries and the mage to our right then?" Marcus asked as Robin nodded. "Just checking is all." He said.

"Ready?" Chrom asked.

"I have so many questions I want to ask Marth but they can wait." Robin said as the bell rang and they charged off to face their foes.

Marcus went straight for the cavalier who first charged at him before the warrior swung his spear around trying to get to Marcus who simply rolled away only to bring up his blade to deflect a sneak attack by the swordsman. He then kicked him away only to be slammed in the back by the knight who used the time given to him by his fellow companions to get close to Marcus.

Marcus barely managed to retain his balance before he swung his unique blade at the knight, who brought up his shield to protect only to recoil in surprise when Marcus's sword started digging into his shield and thrusted his spear which Marcus deflected and then he jumped back to avoid a swinging attack from the cavalier charging at him.

Marcus narrowed his eyes as he appraised the three warriors before him. The West Khan certainly wasn't going to be easy on them. He simply stayed his distance there waiting for his opponents to move as he moved slowly to keep his eyes on them.

Then suddenly the swordsman charged at him. And it was then Marcus realized the plan they had, rush him in with the sword before having the cavalier rush in to defeat him. It was a clever plan, except they forgot to take into account Marcus's strength and his swords. He didn't only have one forged from Saturnite, he had about five of them made in case he needed to replace any of them or to use in case one of them went missing.

While he was dodging blows from the three warriors, he subtlety replaced his relatively normal blade for the Saturnite one and then with full usage of his strength he shattered the swordsman's blade to pieces shocking him long enough for Marcus then punched him head on in the face knocking him out instantly.

"AND WE'RE DOWN TO OUR FIRST CASUALTY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! A KNOCKOUT PUNCH FROM THE OTHER TEAM!" The narrator roared out as the audience cheered on Marcus's first victory.

Something that Marcus didn't let distract him as he raised both blades to catch the spear heading for him from the cavalier and with a proper application of his strength and swords. He snapped the spear in half as well. The cavalier was so distracted and shocked by it that he didn't know Marcus was swinging his blade with the flat end right into the cavalier's shoulder smashing the poor man off his horse and breaking some bones as well. The man quickly surrendered after that.

Then Marcus turned his attention to the knight that looked incredibly nervous now that he was by himself and knew just what kind power Marcus was hiding. Nevertheless, he charged at him fully intending to defeat him. The knight refused to surrender and that was a quality that was a sentiment that Marcus could find endearing and worthy of respect.

So, he let the knight charged at him and raised his blades to counter his spear and then swung both his blades down to finally destroy the shield the knight was holding and then he swung his swords at the knight who raised his spear up at the last minute to protect himself. Only for the blades to cut through the spear and then stopped an inch away from the man's face and soon Marcus gave him a look that the knight took to surrender.

Now he was done with his foes he looked to see how Chrom and Robin were doing. He saw that Robin was doing very well as she had a silver sword that could easily overcome the steel axes that the two mercenaries had and knocked them out as she blocked both axes coming for her and used a bit of her lighting tome to shock the two mercenaries into unconscious. Then she dodged the fireballs coming for her by the remaining mage and managed to dodge and run up to him and disarmed him of his fire tome forcing the mage to surrender and allowing Robin to sigh in relief.

Then the two turned their sights to see Chrom and they were shocked that Chrom seems to be on the losing side. And even more shocking was that Marth was wielding a blade similar to that of Falchion.

"Impossible!" Robin shouted, which was drowned by the sounds of audience's cheering. "How could Marth have a near exact copy of the Falchion in Chrom's possession?!" She asked in befuddlement as Marcus just narrowed his eyes at Marth.

"It seems that Marth is hiding many secrets, we need to interrogate Marth and learn everything that Marth knows." Marcus replied as Robin absently nodded in agreement. "Marth might also be a threat as well considering how Marth's been able to track us down even without being close to us." Marcus added in as Robin looked to him and considered his point.

"It can't be helped I guess, considering Marth appeared right before the Risen first appeared and is now fighting Chrom with what disturbingly looks to be a Falchion replica." Robin admitted.

For a while both of the blue haired warriors fought each other till Chrom finally managed to get a point over Marth, forcing the masked warrior to finally concede to him and left before Marth could be talked to or apprehended.

Soon the trio were surrounded by roaring applause on all sides as they were finally relieved to have won the tournament. Thus, making Flavia the ruling head of Regna Ferox and getting them the alliance that they need for Ylisse.

"I suppose we have to make do with our victory for now." Marcus commented as he looked back at where Marth exited. For some reason, he had a feeling that Marth was holding back against Chrom and that unnerved him somewhat. It made him question just how strong Marth might be.

* * *

"Ha! Nice work you three!" Flavia cheered "You've have my respect, and more importantly you now have the soldiers of Regna Ferox by your side. I will not forget this deed you three have done me!" Flavia said with a grin on her face.

"Truly? Thank you so much East Khan." Chrom said thankfully.

"I should be the one thanking you lot, it's been a long time since I had full power. Now come, tonight we celebrate your victory!" Flavia shouted as she then led all of the Shepherd, save for Marcus, Robin, Chrom, and Lissa. The three of them were then forced to stay behind as Lissa checked them over for any injuries.

"Well that was some fight, don't you think?" Chrom asked the other two as Robin and Marcus nodded.

"Indeed, so they are what trained warriors are like on the battlefield." Robin said as she rubbed her chin in contemplation.

"Certainly, more skilled than most raiders I fought, that's for sure." Marcus admitted.

"But at least we got the alliance settled." Chrom spoke up as a man walked up to them. "Now we relax and enjoy the celebrations." He said as the man approaching him scoffed loudly.

"Bah! Any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps right at it." The man said loudly causing the party to turn their attention to the man that was tanned, bald, muscular, and wearing an eyepatch.

"Excuse me, but have we met before?" Chrom asked.

"I'm the West Khan, Basilio that you lot just deposed of right now." The man introduced himself. "I must say, I was surprised by how powerful the three of you were I was sure that I picked the stronger man." He grumbled.

"Marth…is there anything that you know about him?" Chrom asked.

"Marth? Bah! He's just a sellsword with delusions of grandeur. All I know for sure is that he appeared out of nowhere and knocked my old champion flat on his ass." He stated.

'So, Marth knew when to meet us and then she challenged us.' Marcus took note of what Basilio said.

"But anyways, I have something important to give to you lot." Basilio said before he stepped aide to reveal a dark-haired man with Japanese themed clothes and a katana blade. "This here is Lon'qu, my former champion. Not one for words but he is skilled with a blade. He's equal to Marth in my opinion. I just don't know how he lost so quickly, it's a mystery to me."

"Marth beat him?" Lissa said in disbelief. "But he looks so big and strong." She said as she approached him only for Lon'qu to turn beet red and took many steps away from Lissa.

"Away woman!" He shouted causing the group to blinked their eyes in surprise.

"Hey, what did I do?" Lissa said pouting at the way he acted.

Basilio started laughing at the randomness. "Let's just say that the ladies put Lon'qu on the edge for some reason. Nonetheless, he is a capable warrior and perhaps even has the making of a Khan as well. Consider him to by my people's contribution to your cause." He explained.

"I see…" Chrom said somewhat uncertainly as he turned to the man. "Do you have any objection's Lon'qu?" He asked.

"You give the orders, I stab people. I believe our roles are clear." Lon'qu stated.

"All right then, welcome aboard." Chrom welcomed as Marcus stepped up.

"Why did you panic when Lissa walked up to you?" He asked as he slowly came to an answer about how Marth beaten him now.

"Women…just puts me on edge." Lon'qu admitted somewhat red in the face as he said that.

"So, you have gynophobia." Marcus deadpanned. 'Well that certainly explains how Marth managed to knock him on his ass.' He thought to himself. "Will it be an issue for you in battle? Considering a considerable number of our Shepherds are female after all." He asked.

"I can understand your concern and do not worry, in life or death battles I can surpass my anxiety and fight just as well alongside anyone you need me to fight or fight alongside." Lon'qu stated.

Marcus shrugged. "Well that was the only concern I had really so now let's party!" He shouted to Chrom and Robin as they got massive grins and Basilio laughed heartily.

* * *

(Party)

"Well this is quite the party." Marcus said as he held a mug of ale as there were loud noises and celebrations everywhere. "Kind of not used to it in all honesty." He said as he took a big gulp.

On one table, he could see that Chrom, Vaike, and Sully were having a drinking contest. Kellam was carrying drinks and amazing everyone as they swore drinks were flying somehow. Virion was flirting with several of the serving waitresses and it seems to be working somewhat. Lissa was following Lon'qu everywhere trying to talk to him as the man tried to walk away from her. Frederick was also at the table where Chrom was at in case he needed to be protected. Flavia was drinking away laughing without a care in the world. Basilio was also doing the same, showing that he really didn't care about losing.

Robin then walked up to him with a mug in her hand as well. "Enjoying yourself?" She asked with a smile. "This is the first chance we did get to have fun like this." She said.

Marcus nodded a bit. "I only been in one celebration party and that was after a major battle back home." He said as he remembered when he was parting with the other NCR soldiers back at the dam and he and Moore had a drinking contest that ended with him the victor and Moore really drunk and doing some horrible dancing.

He had never let her live it down since, considering she's the reason why Crocket, one of his favorite people was facing some trouble back home.

"That's right." Robin mumbled. "We don't know much about you in general. So, when will you talk about yourself?" She asked.

At that Marcus went silent. Before he went to sleep before the day they left for the Regna Ferox, he did a bit of reading on the geography or the world and to his shock he found no mentions of America, China, Japan, Canada, Germany, or any other familiar countries. They' don't even have any continents that he recognized or knew.

So, with a bitter realization he was forced to recognized that he was no longer in his world. In hindsight, it should have been obvious with their usage of magic and winged horses that could actually fly.

If he told them about his past, it would mean revealing that he was not from their world and he would be seen as a crazy man and he might either be locked up or be forced to leave. And he would go back to drifting around aimlessly without a goal now.

If there was one thing that Marcus could admit that he was truly scared of, he would be scared of being alone again. He did prefer to have people by his side, he never liked that feeling of isolation. It just left him empty and somewhat unnerved, it kept him relaxed and calm when he had allies knowing that they got his back no matter what trouble he gets into.

But Marcus had appearances to keep so he forced a smile out. "In due time Robin, in due time, when I feel ready and trust you guys enough I will talk about my past." He said getting a humming sound from Robin.

"Very well then." Robin relented. "But I really do want to learn more about our kickass mailman after all." She said with a smile.

Marcus scoffed at her. "Pushy, aren't you?" He asked until he started grinning. "Unless all you really wanted to do was get to know me on another level?" he said causing Robin to blush and sputtering in denial as Marcus had a laugh at her expense.

Robin simply crossed her arms and pouted. "Meany!" Marcus simply grinned and continued to enjoy the party with the Shepherds.


	6. Chapter 5

In the aftermath of the party, just about everyone except, Marcus, Robin, Miriel, Lissa, and Lon'qu got wasted pretty badly that they needed time to recover. Marcus didn't get wasted due to how his body made it nearly impossible for him to get drunk, Robin stuck with him and when she started feeling a light buzz Marcus gently helped her stop drinking, Miriel didn't even bother with drinking that much at all, Lissa and Lon'qu didn't get wasted due to Lissa trying to talk him and Lon'qu walking as fast as he could from her and having a high tolerance helped him as well.

When Robin heard all of that, she simply sighed at what's going to happen now. "Guess we're going to get delayed getting back to Ylisse on the way now." She muttered to herself as Marcus passed by her and was carrying two groaning and very hungover Shepherds, Chrom and Vaike, to Lissa who was now tending to all the Shepherds that suffered painfully from the party now.

"It could be worse." Marcus spoke up. "They are only suffering from hangovers for the most part and there are no serious injuries or anything like that they have taken and whatever bruises or harm they have wrought on each other, is already being taken care by Lissa." He reported.

"That is true." Robin admitted. "But at the rate we're going to have to wait for them to recover, we may have to leave by afternoon." She added in.

Marcus shrugged. "Better to be safe than sorry as they said." He stated as Robin nodded in agreement with him before he got a grin on his face. "So, which was one of your favorite memories from last night at the part?" He asked as Robin's eyes suddenly gleamed.

"Well I can say for sure that one of my personal favorites was when Sumia declared her love for Chrom and tackled him as soon as she saw one of the waitresses flirting with him." Robin chuckled as she remembered that clearly, because as soon as she did that. The two slammed their heads into the wall knocking them both out for the rest of the night as everyone had a laugh at that. "It could also be the brawl that Sully and Vaike did as soon as he challenged her skills."

At that Marcus grinned heavily as he saw Vaike being grabbed from behind than flipped over as he was slammed into another table. "Oh yeah, that was awesome." He chuckled a bit at that memory. "Oh! Remember how the Shepherds reacted when Virion was being carried by Kellam after one too many drinks?" At that Robin started laughing somewhat uncontrollably.

It was by far the most hilarious freak out ever as everyone though that Virion was being carried by a ghost and then Virion recovered his mental faculties and started screaming like a little kid when he found himself being carried off the ground and soon frothed at the mouth and passed out.

"I think that's my favorite memory." Robin said as she wiped away her tears in glee.

"Oh yeah!" Marcus said all of a sudden. "Just this morning one of the merchants wanted to travel with us." He said as Robin looked surprised. "Her name's Anna and she said that the roads are too dangerous for her wares and that she wanted to join us so she can get protection for her stuff and we would be getting a supplier as well. I told her I needed to talk to Chrom and you about it." He explained. "So, what do you think about having a merchant with us?" He soon asked.

Robin thought for a moment about the pros and cons of having a merchant traveling with them and thought one important question. "Can this Anna fight and will she fight by our side if need be?" She asked as Marcus nodded to her answer.

"Aye, Anna is capable of fighting and she is willing to fight with is as a comrade, she is also more than decent at handling herself in combat." Marcus explained to a very satisfied tactician.

"All right then, where is she? I would like to meet her to asses her personality before I decide to accept her employment, just to get a general feel of her personality." Robin said as Marcus suddenly grimaced a bit. "She has personality problems, doesn't she?" Robin said with a sigh.

"Not really problems…per say." Marcus said slowly. "She's…rather eccentric and really dedicated in her work is all." He then said.

Robin frowned a bit at hearing that. "Dedicated how?" She asked as Marcus rubbed his head a bit contemplating how to describe Anna and her money obsession.

"She's willing to play dirty if it means getting more profits." Marcus finally said as Robin continued to look at him telling him to expand on what he said. "When she first saw how effective my armor was and how good it looked she nearly stripped me of my armor off begging for it and trying to sneak some parts off." Marcus explained.

Robin then made a face that told Marcus that he wasn't really impressed with Anna. "She may have her faults but her reputation does deliver on reliable weapons, gears, and other such necessary supplies." Marcus admitted. "Better to pick someone that we know that will try to screw us over and prepare for it rather than some other unknown, correct?" he asked.

Marcus and Robin stared at each other for a bit till Robin sighed. "Fine but I want Anna on a tight leash and we need to double check everything that she tries to sell us and compare prices to what other merchants are selling so that way we know she isn't screwing us over." Robin said as Marcus nodded in agreement.

"Very well then, I will see if Flavia has any such articles on the typical prices of weapons everywhere and use it to double check her merchandises." Marcus said as he went to retrieve said items from Flavia or someone that can help him with obtaining info on various supplies.

"Right then, let's hope nothing too exciting happens." Robin said to herself.

( **Approximately Three Hours Later** )

'I shouldn't have tempted fate.' Robin thought to herself as she cut down a bandit on her way to her current location.

While the Shepherds were returning back to Ylisse, a villager by the name of Donnel managed to find them and told them about the bandit threat to his village and he had to fight his way through. Chrom, naturally went off to assist the poor boy as he looked close to crying when he talked about his "Ma." So far, the boy proved to be rather skilled for a simple villager.

Now they were fighting their way to the village and were winning against the bandits. Soon Robin saw that Chrom and Sumia made it there, first and soon Chrom was engaging the bandit leader as Sumia took to her mount and prevented the other bandits from getting close to her.

"You know." Marcus spoke up beside her causing her to turn to her battle partner. "If you really think about it, encountering bandits may be annoying and detrimental to people, but you can't deny that it helps train up ourselves." He said as Robin grudgingly agreed with him on that front.

Experience was important and better to have the Shepherds fight against bandits and Risen, then to never have fight at all causing their skills to rust and deteriorate. Heck, just getting used to fighting is a rather important skill to have in her opinion. Means less hesitation and more willingness to do what you need to do to win or survive for the most part.

"By the way, how's Anna fighting by the way?" Robin asked now that she remembered their new recruit.

"Anna's doing okay for the most part and she does know her way with a sword and bow." Marcus admitted. "Granted, that is sometimes offset by the fact she has to stop fighting and loot every corpse she leaves." He added in causing Robin to sigh in exasperation. Looting bandit corpses is fine and all but doing it in the middle of a battle?

"Well guess we need to talk to Anna about doing her looting in the middle of a battle and add that to our list of goals we need to do." Robin muttered as she cut down another bandit.

"Well seems like you'll be getting your chance soon enough Chrom just finished taking care of the bandit leader." He pointed out as Robin turned to see that Chrom has cut through the bandit leader's neck.

Robin soon sighed as she cut down the final bandit and sheathed her blade. "Well that's over and done with now." Robin said to Marcus who simply nodded. "We should rest for a bit and start heading out as soon as we can. We need to let the Exalt know that the alliance has been approved." She said as Marcus nodded again.

Then Marcus looked to where Chrom is and spoke again. "I also think that we just got a new recruit as well." He said as Robin blinked in confusion before she looked to see that Chrom was smiling as the boy was hugging, most likely his, mom before he saluted to Chrom and then he simply ran up with the rest of them.

"Donnel here reporting for duty!" Donnel said with a clumsy salute as he stood tall before them.

Robin was silent for a few seconds before she sighed and rubbed her head rather hard at what she had to deal with now. "Okay Donnel, first things first, I need you to report to the knight called Fredrick, he's the great knight and he will be in charge of your training and duty so report to him for the time being okay?" Robin ordered before Donnel nodded and went off the find Frederick.

Marcus looked to Robin and sheathed his blades away. "So, have any ideas why Chrom took Donnel with us even though he's just a simply civilian?" He asked as he and Robin started walking away.

"I don't know!" Robin said in exasperation. "I feel like we should just let him be but Chrom does have a habit of picking up strays like us so we really aren't allowed to say anything bad about Chrom recruiting Donnel." She said with some level of annoyance.

Marcus nodded. "I see your point. But who knows what Donnel could bring? There were a set of cards back home that some people called tarot cards." He said as Robin started paying attention. "There were the twenty-two major Tarot cards that people like to focus or talked about and there's a card called the Fool." He said as Robin started snickering at this.

"Gee I really can't see anything wrong with the Fool Tarot card." Robin said as she snorted a bit.

Marcus simply shook his head. "The Fool may seem like derogatory Tarot but the true meaning of the Fool makes it anything but a derogatory arcana." He explained calmly. "The Fool can be viewed as representing: Naivety, recklessness, foolishness, and risk taking. Of which that can be applied to Donnel and Chrom in a sense." Marcus said as Robin giggled a bit.

"Yeah, Chrom does seem like risk taker and acts rather recklessly as well." Robin said with a wide smile as Marcus looked at her serenely.

"But, the true power of the Fool and what it represents is it is the Tarot of potential." Marcus said as Robin stopped giggling and paid close attention now. "It is the card of potential, new beginnings, innocence, it means high potential in life, reaching a state of renewal and new beginnings in which any day can be an adventure and each moment is lived to the fullest." Marcus then had a smile on his face. "It can also be seen as the unknown wildcard."

"Really?" Robin asked now intrigued as Marcus nodded.

"In a sense, you and I can be considered to be part of the Fool as well, with you having and I have a new beginning in a sense and you show extraordinary potential as well Robin." Marcus said.

Robin then took a moment to digest what Marcus said and came to her own answer. "So, what you're say is that Donnel may be a guy with the potential to become something even greater than what might be expected of him?" She asked as Marcus nodded.

"An astute observation, but only Donnel can reach that potential so long as we help him nurture it." Marcus said wisely.

Robin nodded before she had another question. "So, you said that there was a set of cards like the Fool?" She asked before Marcus nodded in reply. "So, what kind of cards are there and what do they mean?" She asked.

Marcus then faced her with curious look before he answered. "As I said, there's twenty-two of them and if you want to start then let us begin with second one after the Fool: Magician." He said.

"Magician?" Robin asked as she tilted her head.

"Yes, the Magician symbolizes quick and easy solutions and works on making the problem vanish altogether and can be seen, it is self-confidence, skill, loss, and diplomacy." He started off. "However, there is also a side known as Reverse in which the positive traits of the Magician become negative as it also means mental illness and disgrace as well." He warned.

Robin thought about that. "So, in a sense it is like a handicap but it is also a warning that the handicap won't always work and you have to move beyond just relying on the handicap." She deduced.

"Correct." Marcus said as he nodded at her assessment. "High Priestess, symbolizes person of many secrets and untold wisdom, silence, science, tenacity, and mystery. But on the Reverse side it can also mean shallow knowledge, conceit, and inability to see beyond the bigger picture as well."

"So, a person of many mysteries and could also be a shallow person as well." Robin muttered. "Could possibly be Marth in a sense."

Marcus nodded. "The Empress symbolizes resourcefulness, kindness, soothing presence, and thinking of great ideas. But it can also mean ignorance doubt, and difficulty and on its Reverse, it can also mean dead end and stagnation as well." Marcus explained.

Robin hummed. "Empress possibly means growth of new ideas but also stagnation or obstacles as well."

Marcus nodded. "Emperor symbolizes stability and security, top on events, and always in self-control and strong discipline as well as hard work. But its reverse it also means weak will, lack of conviction, and cowardliness." Marcus explained.

Robin hummed to herself. "Emperor means strong will or weak will in a sense." She said.

"Correct and Emperor can usually be associated with fathers that are good fathers or bad fathers as well." He added in. "Next is Hierophant, the following of traditions and beliefs as well as conventions. But on its Reverse, it also means restriction and loss of flexibility as well."

"Hierophant means following old traditions but at the same time means you could also be a prisoner to those same traditions." Robin deduced as Marcus nodded.

"You got it in one Robin, you are smart to understand the meaning of these Arcana cards but there is one lesson that there is to them." he said. "Can you figure it out?" He asked.

Robin thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Never take anything as it seems and not everything is as it seems!" She exclaimed as Marcus laughed a bit at that.

"Very true, you never know how some traits might lead to our downfalls and things are not always as it seems." He laughed out loud as he continued taking to her about the major Tarot cards.

He talked to her about the Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Devil, Tower, Star, Moon, Sun, Judgement, and the World. He talked about their strengths and weaknesses and what they meant. And Robin enjoyed listening to every word that Marcus had to say on the matter of the major Tarot cards.

* * *

Chrom called for a break after a while of walking and everyone agreed since they were a bit tired out from the battle that they went through earlier and they needed to maintain their gear and return to Ylisse in tip top shape in case of emergencies. So, Marcus did what he could to help out around the camp.

He aided in cleaning up the spare weapons and armor that they had so they wouldn't rust. He took a quick inventory check to make sure Anna didn't steal any to sell to them at high price. (He later had to confiscate about ten percent of her goods when they were actually from their supplies.) He helped sewed Lissa's dress tears that she got near the bottom when a bandit cut it and none of the Shepherds had any experience in the matter save for him.

He did find that sewing cloth instead of lizard hide to be so much easier to do and got a grateful hug from Lissa for it. He helped Sully out with maintaining her knife spear and built an entirely new shaft for the weapon to make it easier for her to grip and maneuver around. He helped Kellam get noticed and talked to Miriel about the functions of his Pipboy.

Marcus did what he could and was soon whistling to himself in his tent as he finished cleaning up his gear and then soon placed them back inside his Pipboy as he then counted up on the amount of ammo that he had left in his Pipboy that was given a weird name that he ignored and called Pipboy.

Marcus soon looked at one selection that made him gulp a bit nervously. His Fat Man called Esther and all the Mini Nukes that he had for the weapon. He had only gotten Esther from the Gun Runners for being a very good customer to them and they gave him a heavily modified Fat Man for his usage and a nice number of unique types of Mini Nukes. In the wasteland, he had only ever found thirteen of them in the wasteland and an additional eight of them found while he was in the Divide.

He had only used one Mini Nuke in the wasteland and that was in the Deathclaw Promontory and the amount of damage that he did with only one of them made him swore to never used the thing unless it was an absolute emergency. The only other time he did use it was when he had to face that gigantic robot scorpion with a Big Kid Mini Nuke.

But he had not use it since then and last, he checked he only had about forty Mini Nukes left altogether. Twenty standard Mini Nukes, five low yield Mini Nukes, five Big Kid Mini Nukes, five Tiny Tots Mini Nukes, and five Timed Mini Nukes.

He hoped to God that there was no such enemy or event that would require him to use these Mini Nukes. He didn't want to bring radiation damage here to this world. Marcus simply shook his head and sighed, it was best not to dwell on Esther for the time being. Thinking about that weapon brought him no end of worries.

And he thankfully lost focus on the weapons when all of a sudden Robin suddenly invaded his tent with a furious look on her face she looked pepper red with anger as well. She first slammed her fists into his sleeping bag and then pushed her face into his pillow and let out a muffled scream into it as well.

He was also going to have to wash that pillow when it was said and done.

Marcus at this point was not freaked out like most people, he was simply not in the mood to care and didn't care at all so long as she didn't point her sword at him then he would have no issue. So, once she stopped venting and looked at him he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Can I help you Robin?" He asked flatly.

"Marcus." Robin said with seething rage and venom. "I need you to do something for me." She said seriously.

"…So long it's within reason." Marcus said cautiously.

"Oh, don't worry, it's perfectly reasonable." Robin said as she waved him off. "I need you to go on a secret mission that if completed with help protect all of us and the world." Robin said firmly.

Marcus blinked at her this was starting to sound ridiculous to him now and he felt it might be pettier than he would care to know about.

"What…do you need me to do?" He asked with a strained tone in his voice.

Robin leaned in close with conviction in her eyes. "I need you to kill Chrom." She said calmly.

Marcus blinked his eyes once, then twice, and then a third time.

Then his eyes started twitching at what he heard. 'What the actual fuck?' Was the only thought repeatedly going through his head right now, and he wanted to believe she was joking. But her expression said no and that she was actually serious about killing Chrom.

Marcus felt a headache was coming and it wasn't going to be the end of it. "I'm going to need context for this Robin." He deadpanned.

"All you need to know is that he needs to die." Robin said in a very serious tone.

"Chrom? Our Boss? The Captain? The leader of the Shepherds? Needs to die?" Marcus asked skeptically.

"Yes! Absolutely! He needs to die Marcus!" Robin screamed at him in his face.

Marcus was at loss at what to do. He had no idea what Chrom did to anger her and why that meant that he needed to die according to Robin. Maybe it was best to actually get some context for why Chrom needed to die and what he did to offend Robin so poorly.

"Mind if I ask why he needs to die?" Marcus questioned calmly as he could.

"You don't need to know that!" Robin snapped back rather defensively and now that Marcus paid attention a bit there was a slight discoloration but that could be from the rage.

I feel like I need to know why I have to kill my boss right now." Marcus countered.

"He's a horrible leader that is leading all of us Shepherds on a quest that will get us all killed!" Robin quickly countered with a fake argument so bad that even Dr. Fantastic could see through it.

Or maybe not, Fantastic was a bloody idiot by anybody's standards and didn't even know how buttons worked or how the fridge works either. And calling him Dr. was an even bigger insult to the Followers of Apocalypse and they were great buddies. Especially him and Julia.

"Which is your job, last time I checked, to make sure that no one dies." Marcus countered blandly.

Robin shot him an annoyed glare before she waved it off. "Doesn't matter, the real matter is can you do it?" She questioned with a serious look on her face.

"I am more than capable of killing him and everyone in this entire camp if I so desire to do so." Marcus said thinking about a few weapons that could destroy everyone in the camp like his Mercy, Avenger, SMMG, YCS/186, Cleansing Flame, Sprtel-Wood 9700, heavy incinerator, Smitty Special, and more.

"So why don't you do it?!" Robin snapped back at him.

Marcus gave her a deadpanned look. "I said I would do anything within reason, in no way does killing Chrom seem at all reasonable. In fact, that is the least reasonable thing I've heard all day and this is coming from the guy that managed to get a merchant to work with us and have to deal with her constant attempts to screw us over." He said.

"So, you're going to let him roam the lands cursing or harming whoever he comes across?!" Robin exclaimed at him.

"Robin." Marcus said with a flat look on his face. "That was not even a worthwhile tactic to try on me since I have no idea what he did to you. So, tell me what he did to you that was so bad that you needed me to kill him." Marcus said, no…demanded at this point.

Robin blushed and looked away from him. "He…he didn't do anything to me." She said quickly and nervously.

Marcus' Bull alarm was going off in his head and now that he looked closer he noticed a few things that he didn't noticed that were there before actually.

Like Robin's wet hair, her strawberry shampoo smell, her ruffled and badly put on clothes…oh…Oh…OH…Marcus's train of thoughts hit a screeching halt and suddenly came to a earnest conclusion for why Robin wants Chrom dead.

And he might just oblige her.

"He saw you naked in the bath tent, didn't he?" Marcus asked flatly as Robin started choking on the air and she turned bright red and had wide eyes as she looked at him in complete surprise and terror on her face. "I was right then." Marcus sighed as he rubbed his head a bit.

Robin for the first time since he met her looked small and scared. "Please don't laugh or tell anyone." She pleaded, no, begged to him.

Marcus for the first time decided to console someone by giving Robin a pat on the head that surprised Robin. "There, there Robin. I'm not going to laugh or tell anyone about what Chrom did to you." He said soothingly as he also took note of how she strongly smelled of strawberries. "Don't worry Robin I will make sure that Chrom pays for what he did to you in full." He said calmly.

"You will?" Robin asked quietly as Marcus nodded.

"You have my word that Chrom will learn why it is a bad idea to ignore manners and the like and just violate a woman's privacy and pay for it dearly." He said with a calm look on his face as Robin smiled at him. "I'm also not killing him though, there are better ways at getting payback." He added in.

Robin frowned at that but sighed in return. "Fine but I do want him to pay dearly for what he did to me, okay?" She said as Marcus nodded.

"Oh, don't worry Robin I have a plan." He said with a sly grin.

* * *

Frederick was humming to himself as he was in thought over what he could do to improve morale.

"Hello Fredrick." A voice called out causing him to turn to see that it was Marcus approaching him.

"Ah, hello Marcus, might I ask what it is you are doing here?" He asked calmly.

"Was out for a walk when I heard you humming and I was curious as to what you were doing and here I am." Marcus replied as Frederick nodded in understanding. "So, if you don't mind me asking what is it that you are doing right now?" He asked curiously.

"Well if you want to know, I am thinking about possible ways that the Shepherds could use or do to help increase morale and keep our fighting spirits up." Frederick explained. "There is a strong chance that we may be finding ourselves in a situation that would leave us emotionally drained or we might be in a war as well so I am thinking of possible ways to keep morale up." Frederick explained as Marcus hummed at what he said.

"Do you have any ideas that you want to try out or something that could work for motivational purposes do you think?" Marcus asked as Frederick rubbed his chin in thought about that. "Maybe you want to do something with Chrom since he is the leader of the Shepherds after all?" Marcus suggested.

Frederick's eyes lit up at what Marcus suggested. "Ah yes that is a perfect way to go about raising morale!" Frederick exclaimed. "Who better than to be the face of strong hope and overcoming multiple challenges then Lord Chrom himself?" Frederick said to himself as Marcus gained a sly grin that Frederick did not notice.

"No one better." Marcus agreed. "But you want to know what some people did to raise morale back home where I'm from?" Marcus asked as Frederick leaned nodding as he wanted to know what expertise Marcus might have on the matter related to raising morale. "They did posters to help raise morale." Marcus stated.

Frederick blinked his eyes in surprise at that. "Posters?" He questioned with a curious look in his eyes.

Marcus nodded. "Posters." He said sagely. "They are easy to make in mass, they can have all sorts of pictures or words and they can be anything and people can write supporting messages or draw encouraging pictures to brighten someone's mood up." Marcus explained as Frederick nodded as he took note on the matter of posters.

"I see…" Frederick hummed to himself in thought about what he could do with this knowledge. "So, say if I wanted a poster of Lord Chrom how do you think I should go about it?" He asked as Marcus gained a malicious look in his eyes. "I feel like I do want to do something related to Lord Chrom but I have no idea how or what to do." Frederick confessed as he failed to notice the look in Marcus's eyes. "What would you do Marcus?" Frederick soon asked.

Marcus got into a thinking pose. "Well there were lots of artwork from a part from my home that would have been very shocking." He said with a small grin. "Specifically, statues that have left a number of people in shock at what they portrayed in the fashion they were."

* * *

"What did you wanted to do now?" Marcus asked as Anna looked at him and Robin with a wide smile on her face. "Because I could have sworn that you wanted to stay with us and offer us benefits for doing so."

Anna nodded quickly. "Indeed, I do, I want to arm the Shepherds with up to date weapons, armor, gear, medical supplies, and other important items and in exchange for doing so I get to have exclusive rights to arm you guys and in exchange for every Anna owned store you visit you guys get a discount!" She said cheerfully.

"Okay, but why though?" Robin asked. "What do you get out of this deal?" She asked.

"Well chances are since you Shepherds are going to be on the front lines for the most part, that means you guys need to have spare weapons and stuff like that and I am going to need a steady customer support base with a reliable group that won't die on me and that means more profit." She said cheerfully.

Robin and Marcus looked at each other for a moment till they both turned back and Robin son asked. "Do you have any contract papers on you that further discusses the deal?" As Anna nodded rather quickly in response to what Robin had asked for before she pulled the forms from her clock and handed it to Tactician and Wildcard for them to look through.

Marcus soon pulled out a pair of reading glasses and read through the forms on the discount to see if there were any discrepancies. "Well so far it looks good don't you think?" Robin asked as she read through the forms.

"Hold it!" Marcus soon spoke up. "There is a clause on page thirty stating that if the Shepherds were to buy from any other merchant beside Anna's Family Shop, then you have the right to cut off any deal you have with us as well as jack up the interest rate up to a 150 percent on all your wares." He pointed out to Robin who looked at it with bulging eyes before she looked to Anna.

"That's completely and utterly unacceptable!" Robin exclaimed. "That means you would have a monopoly on our supplies and goods that is not fair to us." She said with glaring eyes.

"Hey I do have to have insurance that I don't lose customers and the like, right?" Anna asked innocently.

"This has to go as this puts us in a considerable disadvantage." Marcus stated with no room for argument.

"Fine!" Anna groused out. "But I can't afford to lose customers and the like so you guys got to give me something to work with here." She stated.

"Easily rectified, we buy exclusively from you and if we buy from other merchants we pay you the difference plus interest." Robin negotiated.

"Fine, what's the interest rate?" Anna asked.

"5 percent" Marcus stated.

"Too low, I want 20."

"7."

"15"

"9 take it or leave it." Marcus said with finality.

"…Deal." Anna grudgingly agreed as she wrote that in.

"This is going to be a long negotiation, isn't it?" Robin moaned out as Marcus nodded sadly.

And so, it went like this for the next few hours with proposals, counter proposals, complicated legal terms, intense arguing, haggling, clause catching with Marcus and Robin trying to catch every little detail on every trap, fine print, loopholes, and more.

Soon the negotiation was done and Anna went off to write out the revised contract and soon came back with the contract as Robin read over the details as Anna was talking to Marcus, with her trying to convince him to sell his armor.

"For the last time Anna, I am not selling you my armor! It holds too many memories for me and it has been one of my best gear sets and no amount of money will convince me to sell it." Marcus replied in exhaustion as Anna tried to haggle with him for his armor.

"Oh, come on Marcus!" Anna whined. "That's some good armor there and can you imagine the Shepherds being equipped in that armor?" She asked.

"No, and don't we have to sign the contract now?" He asked as Anna lit up.

"Yes, we do!" She squealed as she pulled out another copy of the form. "I keep spares just in case now sign here and we're in business." She said.

Just as Marcus got suspicious Robin soon spoke up. "Hold it here, there are discrepancies with the form!" Robin soon shouted.

"Anything wrong?" Marcus asked as Anna started hissing a bit.

"The tax percentage is wrong." She deadpanned as both Robin and Marcus turn to glare at Anna with furious eyes.

"I'm sure that's it." Anna said somewhat nervously.

"And that's not it either." Marcus soon spoke up as he read through the form. "We only get discount if we spend more than what they're worth in the first place." He said calmly.

"Honest mistake." Anna laughed nervously.

Robin sighed. "Seems we have to revise this once more."

"Not needed Robin." Marcus soon spoke up.

Robin jerked her head in surprise to face him. "Marcus?!"

"We've looked over this once already and once is enough, right?" He asked.

"Very sensible." Anna cheered out loud. "Let's get this done and over with right." She added in.

"Of course, Anna." Marcus soon said with a smile. "I trust you Anna to give me the right contract free of any errors."

"Of course, now sign here." She started off.

"Because if there were errors someone could get into some serious trouble." He said with a smile as Anna paused and looked up now in uncertainty.

"Trouble?" Anna asked nervously now not liking that smile Marcus had.

"Of course, it's a felony charge to con the Government and to give them the wrong contract to sign. "Do you know of some of the punishments involved with such a crime?" Marcus asked calmly.

"No?" Anna asked nervously.

"If it were a simple government matter you could be facing ten years in jail." He casually added in as Anna's eyes bulged out. "But since you are trying to scam a Royalty's forces you could easily face twenty up to life in jail or possibly execution." He added in as Anna turned very pale.

"That's not going happen?" Anna said nervously. "The people would never accept it." She added in.

"Oh, I don't know Anna, Chrom is rather popular with the commoners these days, what with protecting them all from bandits and raiders and the like, they might be furious someone might try to take advantage of him." Marcus said as Anna started gasping.

"And that's just the charge for scamming royalty. Then there's the charge from stealing money from the government and changing tax codes as well." Marcus said soothingly as Anna started to back away in fear a bit. "That can lead to a total shutdown of your business and all your wares to being confiscated by the government in payment for all the money you scammed out of us."

"NO!" Anna screamed. "Okay here's the right contract!" She said quickly as she pulled the right one out from her clock.

"You mean to tell us you had the right forms on you all this time?!" Robin said furiously.

"Hey a girl got to make money, right?" Anna said with her trademark smile.

"Indeed, and due to some unfortunate circumstances, Anna's Family Shop now offer us a sixty percent discount on all their goods now." Marcus added in as Anna faced him in horror.

"What? That wasn't the agreed percentage!" Anna shouted.

"Well we agreed to specific terms a few hours ago and since you tried to screw us over, we have to take some compensation otherwise we have to claim damage and take this to court and last I heard they were people who got scammed by you while out of Ylisse." Marcus added in.

"…sixty percent then." Anna said with a sad face as Robin gleefully signed the contract.

"Pleasure doing business with you Anna and I look forward to a prosperous future." Robin said with a smile.

"Yeah, the future." Anna muttered as she walked away.

Robin soon turned to Marcus with an impressed look on her face. "Nice negotiating." She complimented. "You could do a lot with that kind of ability." She added in.

Marcus simply smiled at Robin. "Thanks, but I think I will stay as a Shepherd for now. At any rate, we should probably get going now and get back to Ylisse as soon as possible." Marcus said with a serious look on his face as Robin nodded in agreement.

Things were certainly looking up for the Shepherds.


	7. Chapter 6

"Ah, it is so good to be back!" Robin said with a smile as she stretched out her arms as she got into the Ylisse within the capital as soon as she did. "I do wonder how Lon'qu is doing what with Lissa stalking him every moment or so." She wondered as Marcus started chuckling a bit at that as he remembered how bad Lissa had it for the poor swordsman.

"I do believe that it's going poorly for him with the way that Lissa is going about following him just about everywhere she goes and the like." Marcus commented as Robin smiled widely at that. "Though I do have to say that you were much worse than what Lissa did personally, Robin." Marcus added in as Robin started nodding only for her eyes to widen and squawk in protest.

"Hey! I'm nowhere near as bad as what Lissa does to Lon'qu on a daily basis!" Robin retorted as Marcus raised his eyebrows at her looking completely unconvinced with what she said. "Besides, what did I do that makes whatever that Lissa does look relatively tame in comparison and the likes.?" Robin asked as Marcus smiled somewhat amusingly at her.

"Well, for starters I don't think Lissa threw figs at him in the middle of the camp while waiting for him in his tent." He said.

( _Flashback Start_ )

 _Marcus was humming to himself as he stirred the stew inside the pot for the Shepherd's dinner that night till he heard a loud unmanly scream coming from one side of the camp causing him to jerk back in surprise._

 _"What the fuck?!" Marcus exclaimed as he saw Lon'qu running as though his life depended on it looking incredibly panicked for some reason. "Lon'qu! Why are you running?" Marcus asked as he got close to the man._

 _Only for Lon'qu to completely ignore him and then Marcus turned to the way where Lon'qu was running from only to widen his eyes in shock when he saw a fig heading for him and caught it before it could hit him._

 _Marcus blinked his eyes in confusion and shock when he saw Robin appearing with an armful of figs in her arms and a scowl on her face. "Coward!" She cried out as she continued throwing figs at Lon'qu. "Get back here so we can actually talk face to face!" She shouted as she ran away trying to chase down Lon'qu who was screaming about crazy women._

 _Marcus was left standing there with a fig in his hand as his mind temporarily shut down from the crazy event that was playing right out before his eyes before his mind rebooted again. Soon shaking himself out his stupor Marcus ran off to where Robin and Lon'qu were. "Robin stop throwing figs at Lon'qu this instant! This is unacceptable behavior for an adult much less a Tactician!" Marcus shouted out as he went off to stop Robin._

( _Flashback End_ )

Marcus simply crossed his arms with a look on his face as Robin blushed bright red and look downwards, not even able to look up to face him in the eyes. "You do realize that such childish and volatile actions are unbecoming of you right? He asked crossly and scolding.

"…Shut up!" Robin childishly retorted as she looked away as Marcus scoffed at her with an amused look on his face.

"As much as I want to continue teasing you, seems Chrom wants us to go with him to report to the Exalt about the alliance now." Marcus said as he pointed to Chrom waving for them to follow him.

"Then let's get going then." Robin quickly said as she paced up to where Chrom is and upon seeing her, Chrom got uncomfortable and tried to say something only for Robin to shoot him a very dirty glare as she shoved right past him.

Chrom looked at Robin as she waited for him by the main hallway and sighed as Marcus slide right by him looking somewhat amused at what had happened.

"Troubles with the ladies Chrom?" Marcus asked in amusement as Chrom turned a bit red at what Marcus hinted. "You know most women don't appreciate people of the opposite gender walking in on them and most people find that to be morally reprehensible." Marcus casually stated causing Chrom to choke on the air for a few minutes before he turned to Marcus with wide eyes.

"You know?" Chrom croaked out as Marcus nodded causing him to turn quite pale.

"Yeah, and it took me a while to convince Robin that I shouldn't be killing you even though my principles and moral conscious says I should be." Marcus stated casually causing Chrom to turn a bit pale. "And keep in mind that I have weapons that negate the need for close combat." He added in.

At that Chrom started speaking up again. "Please don't hurt me." He begged to Marcus.

"I'm not going to hurt you Chrom." Marcus bluntly stated leaving Chrom to sigh in relief. "I might however, do something that will cause you to get incredibly embarrassed and it will be something that I am probably going hold over you for the rest of your life." He added in causing Chrom to pale at what he had just heard.

"What are you going to do to me?" Chrom whispered out.

"Not telling." Marcus replied. "Now come on, we have to tell your big sis the good news about the alliance." He said as he started walking towards the throne room with Chrom behind him.

Who then realized that he was supposed to be leading them to where Emmeryn should be and ran up ahead of them to guide them. Only to find the Exalt herself walking down the stairs and turning to them with a bright smile on her face.

"Welcome back all of you." She greeted as Chrom went up to hug her and Marcus and Robin simply bowed in respect. "I have received work from Khan Flavia that she agreed to lend us warriors to help protect our realm and they will be coming in about a week. So, you all have my dearest thanks." She said gratefully.

"It wasn't easy but we did manage to get our point across and win the support we needed in small part to both of our new recruits." Chrom said with a smile pointing to Marcus and Robin. "The both of them held off three champions at once so I could focus on the greatest obstacle at the time." He explained.

Emmeryn nodded before she turned to the two mentioned. "It seems we have much to thank you for then. How could we repay you?" She asked kindly.

"Just doing my job Exalt, nothing to be impressed by or nothing." Marcus graciously denied as he looked to see what Robin would do.

"Like Marcus, I am only doing my job Lady Exalt." Robin said with a smile.

Exalt Emmeryn nodded happily at what she heard. "It seems they have proven to be of great aid to our nation and to the Shepherds." Emmeryn said serenely as Chrom nodded heartily in agreement till Philia busted through a door followed by Frederick, both of them were wearing worried faces and were out of breath as they sprinted to the group.

"My apologies Exalt and Milord, but we bring terrible news!" Fredrick said with an urgent tone.

"Speak." Emmeryn replied quickly.

"Plegian soldiers have been sighted inside the southwestern borders, they attacked a village in Themis and kidnapped the Duke's daughter!" Philia reported as Lissa walked down the stairs and gasped in shock.

"Maribelle!" She breathed out as she started shaking at the news Chrom quickly approached Lissa and steadied her.

Marcus and Robin went wide eyed at who they heard was being held hostage remembering the noble girl that they had met late afternoon couple days ago.

"King Gangrel claims that Lady Maribelle invaded his country and demands we pay reparation for her invading." Philia reported.

"Why that no-good scum! Are we to simply just believe in a dastard like the Mad King of Plegia!?" Chrom shouted.

Marcus narrowed his eyes at that, he had done his fair share of research on the King of Plegia and most reports would support his title.

"If that man is trying to cause a war, then the only foreseeable solution to ending the conflict would be to have him killed." Robin spoke up.

"Robin's right." Chrom agreed. "We should put a sword in his guts and be done with it! The King's been provoking war with Ylisse for several years, he won't stop until he drags the entire continent to war with him!"

"I must say that I agree with Milord and Lady Robin, we must demonstrate and show to Plegia that such actions have consequences." Philia spoke up as well.

"And then what?" Marcus suddenly spoke up grabbing everyone's attention, but more importantly Emmeryn's attention as well as she looked him with measuring eyes.

"What do you mean what?" Robin asked.

Marcus looked at Chrom, Robin, and Philia with a neutral look on his face. "What do you think would happen after the Mad King is killed? At the hands of Ylisse no less?" He asked causing everyone to be silent. "You are not thinking this through rationally, all of you."

"But Maribelle's in danger and Gangrel's trying to provoke a war!" Chrom protested.

Marcus turned to Chrom with his same neutral look only this time there was a stronger presence in his eyes that caused him to be silent. "Mad King or not, you are forgetting that Gangrel's the leader of Plegia and how do you think his people will react to the news of his death at the hands of Ylisse?" He asked looking to everyone as Emmeryn soon provided the answer.

"It would automatically mean war with Plegia as the Plegian People will be furious over the loss of their leader and they would be very merciless." She answered calmly as Marcus nodded.

"It would mean open war and last I checked the Shepherds were only a militia force at best and not even a full one at that and you would only have your Pegasus Knight Corps as your most effective army, which are renowned not only inside Ylisse but also outside of it as well. Meaning that Gangrel knows how to counter your forces, rendering them useless at best or in danger at the worst." Marcus explained as everyone had no counter for that.

"But Maribelle-" Robin protested.

"-Is a proud Shepherd and would place the country first before herself." Marcus interrupted. "Face, it Robin, Ylisse does not have an army to take on Plegia right this moment, not since the dismantling of it many years ago after the last time Ylisse invaded Plegia." He said causing winces to appear on everyone's faces beside Robin. Who looked more confused than anything else.

"Excuse me, but what do you mean since the last time Ylisse invaded?" Robin asked.

"The late Exalt was said to be a warmonger and religious fanatic and wanted to destroy the Grimleal Cult, said to be people that worshiped the Dragon of Ends, Grima." Marcus explained before he grimaced at the next bit of details. "Basically, the Exalt put every Plegian he and his army came across to the blade and that left a lot of corpses…including children."

Robin gasped as she looked to see the Royal family looking down and that Frederick and Philia had regretful looks on their faces as well. "How could the previous Exalt do that?" She asked.

"No one knows for sure, but during the campaign the Exalt died and our current Exalt had to take reins and managed to sue for peace barely at the time. But that doesn't wash away the blood that Ylisse spilled during the conflict and that left a lot of anger, resentment and justified rage against Ylisse right now." Marcus explained.

"It seems like you sympathize with them." Philia said as her eyes narrowed in suspicion at what Marcus said to the group thus far.

Only to get a furious glare from Marcus that made her shiver and took a step back. "I said that they feel justified anger. But that doesn't excuse all the war attempts they made and trying to make the current generation of Ylisse pay." Marcus coldly retorted. "Sins of the parents do not get passed onto the children." Marcus seemingly said to himself. "But the world demands the sacrifices of the children to clean up the mistakes of the past." He said bitterly to himself.

Everyone went silent at that and were unable to respond. But Emmeryn saw the bitterness in Marcus's eyes. She knew those eyes quite well actually and could understand what he was feeling.

It was after all, the same look in her eyes that she used to see when she came into power after her father's death and she had to clean up after his mess and do everything she could to salvage the situation as best as she could during those trying times.

"That said." Marcus soon spoke up again. "You cannot simply expect this to end without bloodshed. No doubt the King would find a way to use this against Ylisse and no matter what you try to do or what you say; war will come eventually." He stated clinically.

Emmeryn closed her eyes in sadness before she opened them up again to look at Marcus. "Is there truly no way to avoid the war no matter how much we parley or how much we try to talk?" She asked.

Marcus looked back to her with regret in his eyes. "I believe that open war is on your doorsteps whether you like it or not. Hope for the best but plan for the worst." He admitted.

At that the Exalt closed her eyes and everyone remained silent and for a moment there was no words spoken until Emmeryn opened her eyes and looked to the group before her. "Even if there's the possibility of war, I do not want my people to die in vain for a conflict that may not exist." Emmeryn said to the group before her.

"Exalt- "Philia soon spoke up.

"-That said." Emmeryn soon interrupted. "I am still the leader of Ylisse and the safety of its people are my responsibility." She declared as she looked Philia and soon there was a silent conversation between the two.

Eventually Philia was the first to back down and bow before the Exalt. "I will see to it that our borders are protected and will have my Pegasus Knight Corps stand guard." Philia soon said. "But at the very least take some of the Shepherds with you for your own safety." She pleaded.

Emmeryn only nodded. "Of course, Philia." She said as Philia ran off to prepare her flyers before she turned to the others. "Chrom, I would appreciate if you and your current group come with me to talk to King Gangrel." She asked kindly.

Chrom nodded. "Of course, Sister, we won't let you down." He declared as Chrom asked Frederick to stay with Emmeryn for the time being as he gathered the Shepherds. The Knight simply nodded and stayed by Emmeryn and Lissa's side waiting for the time for him to be called upon as Chrom, Marcus, and Robin walked to the Shepherd's base for their emergency meeting with the King of Plegia.

When they reported as to what happened, Sully, Stahl, Sumia and Vaike immediately jumped on board to go with the main group.

Virion, Miriel, and Lon'qu soon heard of what happened and also said they would show up as well.

Anna and Donnel could not come due to the fact that Anna was setting shop and Donnel still needed some training to prepare himself.

Kellam could not come unfortunately due to his large armor slowing him down and he already has been taken by Philia to escort her to the meeting she's having with her knights.

Soon just as they were preparing to leave a young boy in a sorcerer's hat appeared before them. If Miriel was to be believed this boy was Ricken, another mage among their group.

At first, he tried to join but due to his young age, Chrom was reluctant to bring him along and asked him to stay at the barracks until his time has come.

However unknown to him, Robin has already conceived of a plan for Ricken to follow them and provide necessary back-up in case the meeting with the King of Plegia goes south.

* * *

As soon as the Shepherds arrived at the Border Pass where King Gangrel demanded the meeting to take place. They soon came face to face with the Mad King himself accompanied by a tanned woman with white hair and clad in a Dark mage's outfit. Gangrel simply bursted into laughter as soon as he saw the Exalt and the Shepherds.

"What's this now? The Exalt in all her radiant glory? I fear that I must shield my eyes!" He shouted before he laughed somewhat deranged.

Marcus curled his lips in disgust, clearly the stories and reports have not been exaggerating the kind of person that Gangrel was. But it was also clear to him that in his insanity lies the eyes of a very intelligent schemer and for a moment. Marcus swore he could see Caesar's image overlapping with his.

"King Gangrel! I have come for the truth of this unfortunate incidents between our nations!" Emmeryn shouted out.

"The truth? I can give you the truth that you seek." The unknown woman spoke up suddenly.

Perhaps if Milady might first share her name perhaps?" Emmeryn asked calmly.

"Of course, Exalt." The woman bowed mockingly. "My name is Aversa, Royal Tactician to King Gangrel himself." She introduced.

'She's also a tactician?' Marcus thought to himself before he saw the book she had on her person and deduced she must be some kind of mage of sorts, though he had not seen that kind of Tome before.

"Very well Aversa, tell me, is Maribelle unharmed?" Emmeryn asked.

Aversa soon snapped her fingers and Maribelle appeared soon after bounded but unharmed as well as guarded by two soldiers.

"Unhand me you gutter born scum!" Maribelle shouted at her captors.

"Maribelle!" Lissa soon shouted in concern before being stopped by Chrom to prevent her from going forward.

"Lissa!? Darling is that you?" Maribelle soon spoke up as soon as she noticed the voice of her friend.

"This girl crossed the Plegian Border without our consent and what's more is that she wounded the brave Plegian soldiers who only sought to bring her back home safely." Aversa said with a smile so fake that a three-year-old could see through the lie.

Already Marcus is calling bull on her made up story.

"Lies!" Maribelle shouted. "You speak nothing but lies you damned hag! I have done nothing wrong! Your countrymen were the ones to invade and razed an entire village to the ground and when I intervened they kidnapped me and dragged me across the borders!"

"Such a violent temper speaks of her guilt clearly!" Gangrel shouted with glee. "Now as for your punishment, it should be rather weighty if I do say so myself." Gangrel sneered as he said that.

"And what of the people that she said invaded our territory?" Emmeryn demanded to know. "What of them?" She asked sharply this time.

"Bah that would prove that your country only has a bandit problem not of my problem or doing, indeed I shall weep salty tears into my sleep tonight." Gangrel said mockingly.

Soon Marcus grinned at his foolish mistake. "If such was the case King Gangrel then why did you held one of our warriors in custody?" He demanded shocking everyone in his group with his attitude.

Gangrel nor Aversa took it lightly and scowled at him. "Who do you think you are to address me fool!?" Gangrel shouted.

"A simple Courier before your eyes King Gangrel." Marcus said mockingly as he bowed exaggeratedly. "And you claim that no soldier crossed our borders and they tried to escort Maribelle home you say?" He asked for clarification.

Gangrel scowled at Marcus. "Of course, they did! Your wretched lady killed Plegian Soldiers from our side!" He shouted.

"If that was the case." Marcus started off before he pulled a document before him. "Then why did the bandits that you claim didn't have anything to do with, have written orders with your signature and seal on it ordering them to raze a village from Themis?" He asked with a shit-eating grin.

It was at that point Gangrel knew… he fucked up.

"What foolish trickery is this?!" Gangrel shouted. "Where did you get that and how do you think you could forge such a fake letter!?" He demanded.

Marcus simply smiled at him. "Before we got here when we took a break I looked to where the village was razed and looked through the corpses of the bandits to see that they were carrying out written orders from you with only the seal that only the King of Plegia could have provided." Marcus explained as he pointed to the emblem seal of Plegia on the written orders.

The other Shepherds and the Exalt looked at him in surprise which soon turned into relief. "Marcus." Emmeryn muttered.

"Perhaps I should recant the orders of one King of Plegia, Gangrel has ordered to refresh your memories?" Marcus said as the Plegian party went silent. "I will take your silence as a yes then." Marcus said before he cleared his throat.

"Don't you dare!" Aversa tried to cut in desperately.

"I, Gangrel, King of Plegia, order the brave warriors of Strike Team Scorpion. To brave through and trespass the borders that Ylisse and Plegia have set up since the last war, with specific orders to accomplish. The first order is to slaughter of village of Ylisse civilians and spare no one, especially children." Marcus started off as the Plegian party looked uncomfortable as some of their men started glaring at Gangrel. "The Second order, is to ensure that a high-ranking noble of Ylisse arrives to the slaughtered village and kidnap him or her to drag said noble across the border to use as a political hostage." He said as Maribelle grinned victoriously at Aversa. "The third order, is to ensure that war in started with Plegia being attacked so we can launch a justified assault on Ylisse and her people. And the final order is to ensure that the soldiers that are killed to keep up the illusion of her attacking us are mere peasants that are of no use to us. Signed the King of Plegia, Gangrel." Marcus finished.

At what Marcus said and the damning evidence of the written orders, plus the seal of Plegia on it some of the men that Gangrel and Aversa brought with them started to look quite ready to mutiny against him.

Say what you want about Plegia in general, but the people have been through a lot since the last war and many soldiers in the army were people just trying to get by and many of them did not want to see a repeat of the war between Ylisse and Plegia ever again. The fact that Gangrel is acting like the last Exalt, the man who slaughtered a lot of them, and damned some of his own people to start a war that none of them asked for caused them to look ready to mutiny.

"What is the meaning of this!?" A Plegian soldier mounted on a Wyvern demanded. "You told us that Ylisse invaded us and that we were to being them to justice, instead you start a false flag war to use us to crush civilians!?" The soldier demanded.

"Now. Now there is no need to start arguing." Aversa started speaking up in a panic.

"Like Hell we would ignore this!" Another Plegian Soldier spoke up. "I didn't sign up so we can be the aggressors this time!" He shouted furiously.

"Yeah! And what was that about slaughtering the border guards? One of them was my cousin!" Another soldier shouted in disgust.

Marcus soon interrupted them. "Hello, hello, sorry to interrupt your argument, but since you are now holding a citizen of ours without just cause now, we demand that you release her at once." Marcus said.

Gangrel just sputtered for a bit and before he could do anything, the Plegian Wyvern Rider nodded. "Naturally." He said before he turned to the guard. "Release her now!" He ordered as the guard looked conflicted.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aversa suddenly shouted at the Rider who simply looked back in disinterest. "We are negotiating to grab the Fire Emblem and if you let the hostage go." She hissed.

"We will be regaining the honor that was lost to us when the King slaughtered innocent villagers and our comrades." The Rider retorted. "Do not think that all of us still care about avenging the wrongs of long past. The children do not inherit the sins of the parents." He retorted coldly.

At that Emmeryn looked legitimately surprised by what the Plegian said, as were everyone else. With the exception of Marcus, who knew better than most, that not everyone could be painted with the same brush.

Gangrel regained his wits and looked furiously at the Rider. "Are you insane!? I am fulfilling the dreams that ever Plegian has wanted for a long time!" He screeched.

"You wanted the Fire Emblem to commit an atrocity on the level on par if not greater than the last Exalt and we are simply doing the right thing." The Plegian Rider retorted before he turned to the guard again. "What are you waiting for? Release the girl now." He ordered.

Just as Gangrel was about to belay that order he suddenly regained his calm and started smiling again. "Yes, you heard him, release the girl." He ordered surprising everyone before he turned to the Rider. "As for you, you will be escorting the girl back across the borders." He ordered.

The man simply scowled at him before nodding as he took Maribelle onto his mount and took off in flight.

Emmeryn soon sighed in relief. "Seems we solve this without bloodshed now." She said not noticing that Aversa was charging her tome or that Gangrel was unsheathing his blade. But Marcus did.

"Watch out!" He shouted surprising the Rider long enough to barely dodge the bolt of magic that had been fired at him just as Gangrel unleashed a devastating shock attack on the Plegian protestors and fried them to death.

Though the Rider was able to dodge the surprise attack, he was unable to dodge the second one and took the blast head on causing him to slump with his mount crashing across the ground and Maribelle with a sprained leg.

"What's this?" Gangrel said with a mad smile. "Ylisse has attacked the returning party, seems we get a war after all!" He cackled as he turned away and whistled and soon a whole swarm of Wyvern Riders came out. "Take care of that damned noble girl first!" He ordered.

* * *

Marcus, Robin, and Chrom soon jumped into battle with their blades drawn and whatever tools they had to rescue Maribelle. Frederick was soon taking the shocked Exalt away from the battlefield and was protecting her alongside Lissa, who tried to charge out for Maribelle. But was stopped by the strong swordsman, Lon'qu, forcing her to stay with him.

Virion and Miriel were using their ranged prowess to keep the Wyvern Riders away while Stahl, Sully and Vaike did their best to keep them away from their effective fighting units.

On no man's land, Maribelle was trying to get the Rider to safety as his mount tried to fly but had a broken wing and was crawling and acting as a shield for the as they moved slowly back. But just as the Wyvern Riders were about to surround the trio, a blast of wind magic came out from Ricken who jumped out from his hiding place and soon provided covering fire for the retreating forces.

Come on! Come on!" Maribelle shouted. "I will not have you die on me after what you did to see to my freedom!" She nearly pleaded to the Plegian Rider.

"We were fools." The man groaned out. "Of course, that Dastard would see us drown in blood rather than sue for peace."

"Maribelle, we have to keep moving!" Ricken shouted as he kept firing from his tome. Then he blasted a Rider that got too close before a Rider got the jump on him and just as he was about to be cut down Marcus intervened with his throwing spear straight through his chest.

Marcus soon ran up and carried the man on his back. "Kid! How fast can you move?" Marcus shouted.

"As fast as I need to!" Ricken shouted, as though he almost wasn't killed just now as Marcus nodded before he turned to Maribelle and the Wyvern.

"Maribelle, can you move properly?" He shouted as Maribelle flinched before shaking her head only for the Wyvern put her on top of itself and moved easily now. "Okay, that works." Marcus muttered. "So, let's move!" He shouted as he took out a heavily modified laser rifle and started firing it at the Riders approaching them as he moved back with Chrom and Robin to provide back up.

Before Chrom took the injured man and allowed Marcus to focus on firing at the Riders, who wised up to the arrows. Magic bolts, and lasers being fired at them. And soon Chrom could almost see them rest of the Shepherds again as Emmeryn got out herself and used her Sage prowess to assist the Shepherds.

"We're almost there! So, hold on!" Chrom shouted to the group with him.

Marcus soon pursed his lips at the approaching Wyvern Riders heading for them. There were more than what Robin, Ricken, Miriel, and Virion could handle right now. Not to mention the single shot of his laser rifle was easily spotted and dodged. At the rate they were going at, they will be surrounded and killed or captured.

…Well he could do something.

But that also made him grit his teeth. That would also mean revealing just how dangerous he is and how much of his origins even more questionable and that would mean he would be under no end of suspicion.

Secret out, or possible death for them. He saw the tired looks on everyone's faces, they could not hold out for much longer.

He made his choice.

As soon as they regrouped with the other Shepherds He pulled out a very large friend. He could hear the gasps from the other Shepherds at what he pulled out.

It was the CZ57 Avenger, a freaking awesome minigun that he picked up after dealing with Centaurs back home and unleashed it on Legionnaire Assassins.

He loaded the armor piercing rounds and soon aimed it at the approaching Wyvern Riders as the barrels of the minigun started to run and got ready to unleash its might.

Then the bullets came out of the minigun.

Nothing survived contact with the bullets as the rounds demolished, no annihilated the riders and mount with ease. None of the Plegian soldiers stood a chance.

Actually, it would be safer to say it was a fucking massacre as holes were perforated by the rounds and all the soldiers were in a state of panic as they were being ruthlessly slaughtered by someone they assumed to be a simple messenger but no…he was much worse than that.

He was an Angel of Death. An Executioner that have come to judge the guilty for their crimes and soon send them to the darkened pits of Hell itself.

Then the minigun stopped spinning as the rounds ran out as the barrels were red hot and smoking with heat as the Plegian soldiers looked on in fright at what Marcus had shown.

And then Marcus reloaded his minigun once more and opened fire upon them.

This time everyone from Plegia truly panicked and ran for their lives trying to outrun the Angel of Death that had come for their souls and as Aversa and Gangrel were slack jawed at the might of what Marcus had in his armory.

Before they utterly scrambled away in fright upon seeing Marcus aiming his weapon at the duo. Once the last Plegian has fled with their tails between their legs Marcus soon lowered his minigun.

Marcus sighed and put away his minigun before he braced himself for what he's about to see. And on the sight of the Shepherds and the Exalt herself. There was only one expression etched onto their faces.

Fear.

Honest to God living pure Fear etched on their face as they looked to Marcus. They thought of him as a simple but nice warrior but here he utterly tore that image to shreds. As he pulled out one of his most devastating weapons and laid waste to the Plegian Soldiers trying to kill them.

And how could they not be scared of him? He casually just laid waste to dozens upon dozens of warriors without remorse or care for them and left their corpses in possibly the worst state they have ever seen on the human body.

But even then, he still had someone to take care of as he approached the now sickly Plegian Soldier. "Stay still I am going to do my best to treat you." Marcus said reassuringly before the man grabbed his hands before he could do anything.

"There's nothing you could do." He said weakly. "What that damned witch did was drain my lifeforce, it continued too long." He muttered as Marcus's eyes widened.

"Damn it!" Marcus cursed as he slammed the ground next to him. "If only I had taken care of her first or gotten you back to safety." He muttered before the man shook his head.

"It was too late for me anyways, the fall that I took ruptured my vitals that it's a miracle that I'm still alive." The man muttered.

Marcus gripped his hands tightly as he looked at the man before him. "May I have the pleasure of knowing the name of the man who went out of his way to aid one of my comrades and fulfill any last request you may have?" He asked.

"My name…is…Michael." The man managed to breathe out. "As for my…last…request…look after…Raptor for me…won't you?" He asked weakly pointing to his now sad looking mount.

Marcus nodded. "I will do everything I can to look after Raptor." He promised as the man nodded weakly to him.

"Hey…Raptor." He motioned weakly to the sad Wyvern. "Be a good…boy with…him now." He ordered as Raptor nodded before the Michael's eyes closed and he took his last breath.

Marcus soon closed his eyes and let Raptor mourn for his lost last for the time being as Marcus soon looked back to see the group still in fear but no longer quite scared of him now.

Marcus took a deep breath before he spoke again in resignation.

"I have a lot to explain, don't I?" Marcus stated as everyone around him nodded cautiously. "I freaking knew it."


	8. Chapter 7

The walk back to the capital was a rather quiet one as many of the Shepherds were looking at Marcus with wariness and the only one talking for the most part was the newly inherited Wyvern that Marcus picked up from Michael. While Raptor did mourn for the loss of his partner and friend, he did take a quick liking to Marcus and Marcus smiled and treated the big fellow with respect.

And it was also possibly the closest thing that he was ever going to get a Deathclaw for a pet, except it can fly and shoot fireballs, which made Raptor all the more awesome in Marcus's opinion.

And it was also this action that caused the Shepherds to once again look at Marcus in confusion. They saw how vicious he was in the ambush attack by the Plegian soldiers. And yet, they remembered the time he cooked dinner for them, fought alongside with, spent time together with, and now they see him treating Raptor as though he was a big dog that just lost its previous master and was consoling him.

In other words, they really did not know what to make of Marcus.

As soon as they got to the Capital, Chrom quickly gathered all Shepherds into one meeting room that was isolated from most of the Capital, gathered all remaining Shepherds, grabbed Philia, and soon asked Marcus to politely hand over his Pipboy for the time being.

Marcus was initially reluctant but handed over anyways to keep the Shepherd from panicking and as soon as the Exalt arrived through the door that was when everything started.

"So, what do you people what to know about me first off?" Marcus asked comfortably from his chair.

"I think I want to know is whether or not you or your nation have any intention of invading Ylisse in the first place." Frederick soon started with a very suspicious look at Marcus. "With your current weaponry, you could easily invade Ylisse and defeat our entire nation."

Marcus tilted his head bit conceded the point that Frederick had. "Well to start off, I have no intention of leading an invasion of Ylisse nor does the NCR have any interest in invading Ylisse in the first place." He spoke.

"And why is that?" Philia demanded with narrowed eyes.

"Because the NCR does not know that you guys exist anyways." Marcus explained.

"And how do they not know of our nation to being with, not with how our country is one of the major countries on this continent?" Philia soon interrogated.

"Because the NCR does not exist on this continent nor do they exist on any other continents in the first place." Marcus said leaving the group in confusion.

"But you said that the NCR existed, so how could they not exist here?" Emmeryn soon asked softly.

Marcus soon turned to the Exalt with a simple look on his face. "Ever heard of the Multiverse Theory?" He asked leaving most of the group confused save for Miriel, who gained a gleam in her eyes.

"I have heard of something similar to that." Miriel hummed out. "Supposedly the Outrealm Gates lead to different points in times or realities in which they are not our own." She explained before she gained a wide look in her eyes. "You're…not from here…are you?" She soon breathed out as Marcus nodded. "Amazing." She spoke out.

"Pardon." Lissa soon spoke out in confusion. "I think I speak for most if not all of us is what do you mean by that?" Lissa asked as most of the group nodded in agreement with her. "We all know that Marcus doesn't come from Ylisse, his lack of knowledge on everything here is pretty easy to see."

Miriel shook her head. "No Lissa." She denied. "What I mean is, Marcus does not hail from this world, he hails from one of the other possible realities out in the Outrealm." She stated as she looked very interested in Marcus now.

There was a silence in the group till Robin spoke up. "You mean to tell me that Marcus hails from a whole new world not known or anything like ours?" Robin breathed out in awe as she also stared down Marcus with intelligent eyes.

Miriel nodded. "Yes, it is the only possible explanation that would make sense out of everything that I have observed about him." Miriel started off. "His technology is far beyond anything that I have ever seen or heard of in my life researching subjects and the kind of weapons and tools that he had shown would have rendered conventional fighting irrelevant with the possible exceptions of our magic. And even if it was common, that kind of technology does not stay silent for long but when I talked to Marcus about some of his weapons. Some of the earlier weapons have been around for a very long time for at least 200 years or more by his reckoning and Something that would have been impossible to keep quiet about." Miriel explained.

Sully however wasn't as convinced. "Wait, wait just a damn minute." She spoke up. "You mean to tell me mailman here is not from our world?" She asked skeptically. "I'm sorry but as long as I don't see any proof I'm calling it bull." She stated.

Marcus nodded at that. "That's a good point." Marcus admitted. "Thankfully I have more than enough evidence to back my claims." He stated before he pointed to the Pipboy by Frederick's side. "I have the proof in there." He said.

Frederick narrowed his eyes. "And how do I know you won't kill us or pull out some weapon?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because first off, you guys are actually some of the few people that I like hanging out with, second, I have no reason to harm any of you, and thirdly if I wanted to kill any of you I would have done so already at the border pass." Marcus stated bluntly to the overly suspicious knight.

Frederick look conflicted but the combine looks he got from both Chrom and Emmeryn made him relent before he picked up the Pipboy and handed it over. "If you betray their trust I will see you die before you know it." He warned.

Marcus nodded. "Noted." He said before he pulled out…books. Lot and lots of books that he picked and showed to the group who looked confused.

"How are books going to prove anything?" Philia demanded as Marcus shifted through the pile of books that he had on him at the moment before he grinned and looked at her.

"Because this book is a world geography book that I picked up back home." He said before pulling out an atlas of sorts. Before He quickly opened the book and flipped through the pages and smirked triumphantly as he saw the world map. "This here is a map of the seven continents of the world." He said.

Before Emmeryn took a look alongside Philia and what they saw only made them more and more confused before they looked up to Marcus with a sense of shock.

"This…" Philia started out.

"Has none of the continents that we are familiar with nor is there any familiar shape on the map either." Emmeryn muttered. "So, you really do come from another world." She said as everyone got interested and crowded around the world map with a sense of surprise.

"Oh, my Naga." Lissa muttered out.

"Astonishing." Maribelle muttered as well.

"So, this is the part that I tell exactly about how my world comes and goes then correct?" Marcus asked as he now had the undivided attention of everyone who got back into their seats and nodded quickly.

"Oh yes please, Marcus this is something that I never thought to see or experience." Chrom said with an excited look on his face.

"Very well then gather around folks, for it is grand story time." Marcus said.

"First thing to know is that where I'm from the continent is called North America, there lays an incredibly powerful country known as the United States of America, or USA for short." Marcus started off.

"Wait but didn't you said you come from Nevada?" Robin asked curiously.

"Nevada is one of the main 50 states of the USA as you can turn to see the map of the USA here." He pointed and soon Robin's eyes went wide at what she saw. "Of course, those maps don't mean much anymore nowadays." Marcus added in.

"Why is that?" Chrom asked curiously.

"Because of the Great War." Marcus said ominously as everyone straightened up in response to that. "You see before the Great War, America was one of the most powerful nations in the world with cutting edge technology, advanced transportations that don't rely on animals, flying transports, you name it. America was one of the most technologically advanced nations at the time." He explained.

"So, what was the issue then?" Frederick asked.

"The problem was that like every other nation, they have need of resources and there was a time in America's history that was known as the Resource Wars as some of the resources that were needed to keep some of that tech running soon ran out and lead to a series of panics in the US." Marcus explained as everyone looked sad at how that went and started.

"That sounds awful." Emmeryn commented on.

"Indeed, soon nations went to war over the remaining pieces of resources they could get their hands on and eventually because of the lack of fuel and resources needed, America could no longer maintain its vast fleet of armored Calvary, so to say and had to find alternatives." Marcus explained before he pulled out an impressive suit of armor that made everyone gasp in awe as they saw possibly one of the most dangerous looking sets of armor ever.

"What is that?" Robin asked with wide eyes.

"This here, ladies and gentlemen is known as the T-45d Power Armor, this armor here was made to allow soldiers carry heavy weapon platforms while remaining mobile. So, America wanted Power Armor and for years they research this bad boy piece of tech and even though they made lots of failures along the way. The failures however, made breakthroughs in other areas of technology and helped America to a new kind of resource for the time being." Marcus explained.

"And this ties in to the Great War how?" Miriel asked.

"Because of the developments made because of Power Armor research, one of the other nations known as China demanded that the USA shared its resources with them. They were on the verge of collapse because they were running out of resources as well but since they didn't get along. America refused to share with them."

"And this lead to war between them I presume?" Kellam asked as Marcus nodded.

"They started invading some of America's territory and within the first month the Americans needed a quick response so through a series of corner cutting and ingenuity on the engineer's parts, the Power Armor allowed the USA to dig in but design flaws were soon revealed and that prevented them from winning and only kept them at a deadlock." Marcus explained to his enraptured audience.

"Amazing that such an armor can be so innovative." Frederick commented.

"At any rate for the next ten years into the war the military company came up with a whole new set of armor called T-51b." Marcus showed before he pulled out the Power Armor in question and in the opinions of many Shepherds. It looked very refined and smooth. "This power armor was the game changer and allowed the USA to push the Chinese Army out allowing a USA victory." Marcus explained.

"But such a long war had to have consequences, right?" Emmeryn asked.

"Quite, the war lead to severe food shortages and riots back home that these Powered Armor soldiers were soon being deployed against the normal people themselves. Not to mention the R&D department were doing human experimentation and other such nasty businesses like creating new viruses and the like." Marcus said in disgust.

"That's inhumane!" Virion cried out.

"That's the history that I know for the most part but the thing is the Great War ended when the nuclear bombs dropped." He said darkly.

"Nuclear Bombs?" Robin asked nervously.

"Imagine weapons of mass destruction capable of wiping entire cities off the map." Marcus commented as the group looked horrified.

"How could these weapons be deployed?" Emmeryn asked in shock.

"I do not know the reasons myself but these monstrosities were enough that experts back then theorized that we had more than enough to destroy the world twenty times over. And the Great War ended with both nations launching their bombs at each other and destroying the world with over billions of casualties." Marcus said in exhaustion.

"…Billions?" Lissa breathed out in shock.

"That wasn't even the worst bit about these bombs, they also release poison so dangerous they mutated or killed humans within days." Marcus said as he pulled out pictures of the Ghouls and Feral Ghouls and everyone looked repulsed. "These people that were so heavily affected by the poison they released that they changed and became this instead. Some lose their minds and go feral, others keep their minds long enough and if they're lucky live long lives as the poison also expands their lives as well. Some ghouls can be found from before the Great War and that was over 200 years ago."

"That is very interesting." Miriel muttered.

"And here's a list of pictures that I have taken of mutated monsters through either the poison from the bombs or some other viruses." Marcus soon pulled out as the Shepherds looked through the list with a look of awe and fear at some of these monsters. Like the giant scorpions and mutated bears and the like.

"But that leaves me with one question." Emmeryn spoke out. "What is your story in all this?" She asked as everyone turned to Marcus.

"Well if you want to know, my story began with a simple package that I was tasked to deliver." Marcus started off. "However, the contents were unknown to me and then I got ambushed by a man in a very fancy suit and his thugs that I would later know as Benny." Marcus added in.

"What happened next?" Lissa asked.

"Well first when he knocked me out, he took my package and said that the game I was playing was rigged from the start before he took this gun." Marcus said pointing to Maria. "And put two shots in my head before I was buried." He explained as he pulled up his hair to reveal the two bullet shaped scars on his forehead that was partially covered before.

There was a strong silence that you could hear a pin dropped and everyone was left gasping at the wounds that Marcus suffered from this Benny.

"How did you even survive?!" Lissa shrieked as she ran over to look at him in worry. "I've seen what some of your weapons could do and you survived that as well as being buried alive?" She asked in worry.

"I got lucky." Marcus explained. "But the side effects were that I lost my entire memory and I was very lucky to have survive that and still remembered my name. even though the rounds messed up my entire brain." Marcus said before he got looks of pity from everyone.

"So, you're in the same boat as I am then." Robin said as Marcus nodded.

"Anyways, an advanced automatic entity helped dug me out before I was saved by one Doc Mitchell who spent the entire night trying to fix me up and succeeded. Good man that doc was." Marcus said in fond remembrance. "So as soon as I recovered I got myself retaught the basics and soon helped the town out of trouble with gangbangers and helped save the town from them before I started my long quest to find Benny." He said.

Unknown to him, Emmeryn smiled at how Marcus still took the time to aid the town from trouble even though he could have walked away and the more and more she heard him talk, the more and more she became impressed by him.

Marcus talked about everything he had seen and done since he walked out of Goodsprings. How he helped save the deputy from the convicts at Primm and restored the law. How he aided the Mojave Outpost deal with the large fire breathing ants. How he aided the Bright Brotherhood get onto their pilgrimage and stopped the Super Mutants lead by Davison. How he reactivated the Helios One Energy facility. How he aided in Freeside and the Kings. How he stopped the Fiends Leaders and most importantly how he hunted down Cook Cook himself. The spy at the camp he dealt with, the Centurion he interrogated. The Slave traders he hunted down. The residents of Vault 34 that he saved from a slow death. The Boomers, Brotherhood of Steel, Great Khans, and Followers he soon made friends with. Hunting down some of the most dangerous animals in the Mojave, something that earned him respect from Sully and Vaike.

The Great Khans that aided Benny and were soon forgiven by him and given freedom. The Bitter Springs Refugee camp he went out of his way to aiding. The people from the Followers that he aided and donated high amount of medicine too. Aiding a couple in love and saving a woman from a horrible fate continuing as a prostitute. The prevented cannibalism he stopped among the White Gloves. The entertainers he found a job for with the Chairmen. The invasion at Nelson. The rescue and retrieval of many NCR prisoners from Legion hand. The criminals who were tired of running and convinced to go back into jail. And more importantly the events that lead Marcus to meeting…HIM.

He soon told the entire group of the nightmarish Hell that was the Sierra Madre and how he had to scavenge everything he could to survive and work alongside the few people not trying to kill him and work together to survive the crazed man Elijah's obsession with the past and how he learned more about the man that set him up to die in the first place. Sully was impressed by Christa and most were put off guard by Dean but did admit that he had his usage. Though Lissa and Maribelle were looking at him in wide eyes when he mentioned he managed to help fuse the personalities of both God and Dog together back to a normal personality. But soon eventually trapped him in the vault forever with all the riches from the vault. Something that he showed all 37 gold bars to the group leaving them wide eyes at how rich he was. Thing is, nobody had any use for gold. And their 35-pound weight made Maribelle comment that he could live like a noble here in Ylisse.

He then spoke about the events in Zion National Park and how he allied with both the Sorrows and Dead Horses to beat out the White Legs. How he met with the Burned Man himself, Joshua Graham. Who learned of his follies and wanted to see to the people safely in retribution for his sins as the Legate of Caesar's Legion. The story of the Survivalist did make Emmeryn, Lissa, Maribelle, and Philia teared up at how the man lost everything but dedicated the last embers of his life saving people. They also grieved for the loss of Waking Cloud's husband and admired Marcus for getting Daniel to be truthful. Though they were most surprised by how Marcus showed mercy to Salt-upon-Wounds. But did admit that some spirit of peace was better for Joshua in the end.

Though when Marcus started talking about the events that happened at Big Mountain. Everyone was looking at him in undisguised awe and surprise as he somehow survived having his brain, heart, and spine removed from his person. They were also quite disgusted by how much the Think Tank degenerated over the years and eventually pitied them. Though they were weirded out when Marcus did explain he talked to his own brain. And there they learned more about what happened with Christa, Elijah, and the man called Ulysses. However, when they learned about what Dr. Mobius was trying to do, they respected and grieved for the loss of intelligence that the man lost in the end.

He then told them the story of when he entered the Divide and how he went through many nightmares and terror and when Marcus explained his part, unknowingly or not, in the destruction of the thriving community. Many Shepherds did claim that it was not his fault and that he shouldn't blame himself for it. They were confused on what Ulysses was like and eventually they came to pity the man without a flag on his back. Not to mention they were in sorrow for when Ed-E had to sacrifice himself to stop the nuclear bombs from being launched and exploded. Though they were surprised that he and Ulysses came to a truce, no matter how uneasy it is considering that Ulysses tried to kill him by not only using the Mojave against him. But also by using the might of the Divide against him as well. Though Emmeryn was very much interested in how he and Marcus soon came to a truce though.

As soon as Marcus finished going through the events as he did with Ulysses. He soon talked about friends he had made along the way. One such friend was the Ed-E unit he fixed up. Rose the whisky lover, Boone the sniper, Veronica the scribe, Raul the mechanic, Lily the Super Mutant, Rex the Cyborg dog, and Arcade the doctor. Many of the Shepherds were surprised by what many of Marcus's companions had to go through and were sad that Lily was suffering from dementia. And how Veronica couldn't convince her Order to adapt and how Rose lost everything she owned. But the one they felt for the most were Raul and Boone. Chrom could not imagine what Raul must have gone through losing the two people he cared about and yet wanted to be a mechanic so he could help the world in his own way. But when the group heard about what Boone had gone through…

Not a single woman that heard what he had seen and done, what he had lost, what he had to do, and what he had thrown away to prevent a worse fate from occurring had not had tears in their eyes. Even Sully teared up at how Boon basically had to kill his unborn child. Lissa was in hysterics at that and was hugged by Maribelle and Emmeryn who could only hug her in response to what Boone suffered. Though they were glad that Marcus went out of his way to not only find the scum responsible for the events leading up to his wife's death but also for convincing him to move on.

Then Marcus talked about his meeting with Benny once again and how the Chairmen did not like Benny trying to screw them over and placed him in a position to be killed by Marcus and finally did so. After Marcus stole his gun earlier and use his gun against him. Though what Marcus did learn that Benny possessed the means to activate an ancient army of machines meant for war and that House himself wanted Marcus involved with him alongside Caesar's Legion as well.

Soon Marcus found himself between a three-way power struggle for control of the Mojave. However though, Marcus soon used all the diplomatic skills he had to convince House and the NCR to ally together to fight against Caesar's Legion and soon Marcus used the opportunity granted to him by Caesar's Legion to infiltrate their camp and not only kill Caesar himself. But to also reactivate the machine army and upgrade them to be an even greater force. It was also during this time He discovered an old but still powerful remnants of a less than kind faction and convinced them to do fight the Legion as well.

Soon Marcus united all the factions he could to fight against the Legion now lead by Legate Launius and completely annihilated them. The treaty between House and the NCR stood. And soon Marcus was given the Golden Branch, the highest civilian decoration in the NCR. While House afforded him every possible luxury he could with a quiet sense of pride he had in Marcus. For a while Marcus did act as the middle man between NCR and House. Then he managed to find other people that could act as replacements for him so in the events he did died, someone else would continue his work.

He would later return to Big Mountain and slowly brought in Followers to bring beneficial technology back to the wasteland. While using the vast amount of resources and the like of Big Mountain to not only look after the Think Tank but to also continue Marcus's work in the events he died. He also explained that the teleporter that the Think Tank build for him malfunctioned and brought him here to this world in the first place.

"So that's how you ended up here in out realm in the first place." Miriel hummed out. "While your world does sound rather fascinating. The less than ideal conditions of your world horrifies me to no end." She added in as everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! It kind of freaks me out what some people are willing to do just for a bottle of clean water, makes me feel like I took a lot of things for granted." Lissa shuddered.

"And it would explain how strong of a warrior you are." Sully said with gleaming eyes. "So, when will we get to spar?" She asked with a smirk.

"Later." Marcus replied. "It's getting late now." He said pointing to the window and soon everyone nodded at that. "So…" he started off nervously. "What do you guys want to do with me?" He asked in worry.

Everyone looked to him in confusion before Chrom and Emmeryn soon stepped up with smiles on their face. "The amount of pain and courage it took for you to tell us your whole story is not the actions of a man that is going to betray us would do." Emmeryn stated. "So, you have my trust and thanks for telling us everything." She said before she bowed a bit to Marcus who went wide eyed at what she did.

"Everybody has their own secrets and yet you were willing to shed most of them to be honest with us and to keep our trust. My trust in you should not have wavered and never will it waver again." Chrom said.

"I won't stop trusting you now or ever!" Lissa said cheerfully.

"You revealed your secrets to save my life, how could I not trust you?" Maribelle asked with a small smile.

"Heh! The Teach is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." Vaike scoffed.

"You and I still need to fight so yeah, I got your back." Sully said with a grin.

"You were always nice to me and never looked down on me, the least I could do is trust you." Sumia said with a smile.

"You could see me and never asked anything or took advantage of my status." Kellam said with a grateful look.

"I haven't gotten to know you, but if the captain says you're all right then you can't be that bad of a person." Ricken added in.

"Aye! Same here as Ricken! You don't seem so bad good sir." Donnel spoke up.

"It would be an insult to my pride to not trust a powerful comrade as you after all you had risked for us!" Virion sprouted.

"Can't look down on you either and you're still a good guy in my books man." Stahl said with a grin.

"You did help me out when the crazy one." HEY! "Tried to assault me with fruits and gave me some important advice, so I think I can trust you still." Lon'qu added in.

"If you have Lady Emmeryn and Lord Chrom's trust then I shall do the same." Philia said.

"I may have opened up some old scars but I will not deny that you have given a lot of secrets up to prove your own trustworthiness. I shall trust you as well." Frederick admitted.

Marcus smiled at the reaffirmation of trust he received from everyone and looked to Robin who smiled and scoffed at him.

"You think I want you out not when you been with me since the start? Not to mention the number of favors you did for me?" Robin questioned. "I don't think I want our mailman to leave any time soon." She said.

At that Marcus felt too truly thankful as he bowed before everyone, catching them all by surprise. "You may not know how much this means to me but I thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart." He said with all the sincerity and gratitude that he had in his body.

Chrom just simply got up and pat him on the back. "Hey Marcus, I think the fault lies with us because we were honestly terrified of you when you started tearing through those Plegian Wyvern Riders like flies." He explained.

"Oh yes, that reminds me. Is Raptor adjusting to his new roost well?" Marcus asked as the last time he saw him, Raptor was being taken away by some of Philia's Pegasus Knights.

"Then I assure you that your recently gifted Wyvern is adjusting pretty well, if not grabbing disbelief from the rest of my knights with how much your friend can eat." Philia added in with an exasperated smile for once.

Marcus just chuckled at that. "Well you have my thanks Philia." He said gratefully, causing the woman to simply just nod in his direction. "Now I know you guys probably want to hear more about my world but I don't think I should continue." He said, grabbing groans from just about everyone who was very interested in the story.

"Why not?" Robin whined to Marcus with the biggest shimmering eyes that Marcus saw. "It was getting really interesting and I wanted to hear about how the peace treaty between the NCR and House went as well as learning about some of the strategies used during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam."

"Because for one, I am getting tired of talking for a while." Marcus started off. "And two, it's already night time so we should all get ready to rest soon." Marcus said pointing to the sun that was mostly gone and everyone nodded in understanding as they all got up and left to do whatever it is they felt like doing for the night or something else entirely, leaving Marcus as one of the last people there.

Just as Marcus was about to leave someone grabbed his arms causing him to turn around and see Exalt Emmeryn holding onto him arm. "Exalt Emmeryn?" Marcus questioned. "Is there any reason why you are holding onto my arm like that?" He asked.

Emmeryn nodded. "Yes, I was wondering if you would stop by my room so we can perhaps have some late-night tea time as well as discuss a few important things if you do not mind?" She asked gently.

Marcus blinked in surprise before shrugging. "Sure, I'll meet with you for tea time." He said as Emmeryn smiled in reply. 'Hope the tea she provides doesn't send me on a trip like the one White Bird made for me.' Marcus thought to himself.

That was by far one of the weirdest experiences he had gone through in Zion Valley. It also kind of freaked him out to know that there are such things like Ghosts and that somehow, he could rip off the paw of a ghost bear…somehow.

* * *

"Nice place you got here." Marcus commented as he entered a room of sorts that acts something as a study of the sorts before it connects to Emmeryn's bedroom as she nodded. "You seem rather busy as of late." He added in upon seeing the stacks of paper on her desk.

"Indeed, running a country is no small task as I am sure that you have seen or heard of." Emmeryn said as she pulled a teapot with some tea leaves and then crunched them up before she took a pot of boiling water that was left there by a maid who had set up her fireplace as well before she took the pot and poured it into the teapot and set it down as the teapot settled itself.

"No kidding." Marcus said. "I don't think I would be a good leader at all not to mention how I'd probably get swamped in all the work I have to do with domestic, foreign, and economic policy." He added in with a shudder.

He wanted nothing to do with leading New Vegas, even when Yes Man told him he could do it. There was no way in Hell he was going to take over New Vegas and act as its leader when he could be doing something else much better.

Emmeryn nodded in agreement. "Running the country is no easy task, that I can assure you." She stated. "Not to mention that the court also has to be appealed with the councils and the nobles that make up the upper class and many of them don't seem to care for consequences." She said before she sighed.

Marcus grimaced at all that. "Sounds like you got a handful on your plate, seems the odds are against you and all that." He commented.

"Indeed, and do you want to know what I think some of the worst part that truly has me worried Marcus?" She asked as Marcus leaned in and nodded. "I suspect many of my nobles has ulterior motives and corruption running around in their own businesses that I am worried that they would bring down the country because of it." She said before she took the teapot and poured out two cups for her and Marcus.

"Well that sounds like quite the dilemma, you suspect but you don't have proof or evidence saying that the nobles you suspect to be guilty of those charges?" He asked as he took the time to blow the cup of tea before sipping a bit of it.

Emmeryn nodded as she took her own sip. "Indeed, and the worst part is; even though I would prefer to deal with the issue myself. Trying to restore my country and fix the mistakes of what my father has done has been rather time consuming and still lingers over me like a shadow." She said. "I had to prove to the people that I could be trusted and I had to give up a lot of things over the years to keep my people happy." She said quietly.

Marcus raised an eyebrow when he heard that before he set his cup down and looked at her in the face. "Sometimes the world doesn't care about what we have to give up to clean up the mistakes of the past." Marcus said somberly as Emmeryn nodded to him. "I know the kind of problems you're going through. I mean after 200 years everyone in my world is living in the aftermath of our ancestor's mistakes." He said before he sighed.

Emmeryn nodded at that, in a way he was perhaps the only person here in this whole nation that could understand what she's going through. And it was perhaps that quality alone did she feel a kinship with the Wildcard.

"I'm sorry Marcus, I understand that you would know that better than anyone else here." Emmeryn quickly apologized as Marcus shook his head.

"No need for that Exalt, you didn't mean anything bad by it." He soothed out.

Emmeryn smiled at him. "Thank you, Marcus, but I should let you know that my friends simply called me Emmeryn or Emm if you want to be informal." She added in with a small tint of red as Marcus grinned at her with an amused smile.

"Very well then Emm." Marcus said before he raised his teacup up to her surprising her a bit. "May we look forward to a long and healthy friendship." He toasted as Emmeryn quickly smiled and toasted as well before they drank their tea.

Just as they were about to continue their talk Marcus suddenly stiffened and got up, surprising Emmeryn before he looked to the window and quickly grabbed the throwing knives that were being thrown at him before he saw the man looking surprised and was unable to react when Marcus threw the knives back at him.

Soon the alarm ranged sounding that intruders have invaded the palace. Marcus stood there at the window with narrowed eyes as Emmeryn slowly back away from the window for her own safety.

"Emmeryn." He soon called out grabbing her attention. "I request you stay by my side, as I fear these are not the only assassins to come." He said calmly as she nodded and stayed behind him as Marcus pulled out his blade and a ballistic fist. "We're in for a long night before us." Marcus muttered as he locked the door and pushed a table against the window opening blocking it.


	9. Chapter 8

Just as soon as Marcus said those words someone was banging the outside of the doors but failed to break it open. Before he heard some lock picking on the other side of the door, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Marcus motioned for Emmeryn to hide behind the couch she was sitting on and she quickly obeyed and only raised her head to peek up to see who it was.

Marcus quickly got to the right side of the door and just as soon as the door was picked and the doors opened, Marcus quickly swung his sword right into the neck of one of the intruders. The assassin widened his eyes in shock as he gurgled and choked on his own blood, shocking the other assassins that had come with the thief.

Marcus then got up to the dying man and planted his fist right into the chest of the assassin and knocked not only the dead man's corpse back but also the other assassins that had come with him as well. Some of them jumped back seeing the sword cut through the first one's neck and some of them got blown away by the impact of Marcus's fist.

He soon rushed in to take down the stragglers that were knocked out and killed about three of them before the rest of them regrouped with the other assassins and were all standing before his eyes. He held his ground as he narrowed his eyes with a cold calm assessing the team of assassins standing before him now.

'Two mages, five equipped with blades or daggers of the sort. Easier than I expected but I cannot let them get past me.' Marcus thought as he gripped his blade before the first duo of swordsmen rushed him to cut him down.

Marcus raised his blade to block the first attack before he ducked dodging the second slash and Marcus kicked into the kneecap of the second swordsman, snapping it in the process. While Marcus charged straight for the first swordsman using his fist to shatter the sword before he stabbed the man in the neck and pulled it out before flicking off the blood on his sword before the other group of assassins that were shocked by how quickly he disabled one and killed the other.

The second swordsman, when he had his kneecap snapped bent down and cried in pain as he held his unnaturally bent leg in his arms. Before Marcus kicked him a second time and this time shattering his lower jawbone and he raised his leg before the man's head. Terrifying the assassin to no end as he tried to beg but received a brutal stomp on his skull that shattered and caused his brain to explode.

Marcus calmly turned to the group of assassins that were now terrified of him seeing as he easily killed and shatter the skeleton of two men before their eyes. Only to be surprised when Marcus made his sword and got into a fighting stance with a gesture that said "Come at me." Now visibly incensed, the three remaining physical fighters charged at him and before the first sword could reach him.

Marcus ran up to the swordsman, grabbed his sword arm and pushed it to where a man with daggers was swing his blades only to accidentally chop off the man's sword arm. The swordsman screamed and collapsed to his knees trembling as he desperately tried to stop the nonstop bleeding on his stump only to get kicked away for his trouble.

The assassin still in shock over harming his own ally, didn't notice Marcus grabbing his arm and then raising his right elbow and slamming it into the man's arm, breaking it as Marcus quickly turned around and used the assassin as a meat shield as the third fighter shoved his blade into the man's heart.

Marcus then dashed from underneath the corpse and ran up and slammed his fist straight into the torso of the man causing his chest to cave in and fall down soon after. Marcus soon got up from his stance only to jump to the right as the mages that came with him desperately flung fireballs at him and used the injured assassin's body as a shield as Marcus ran up to them under the cover of the human body he took. Then he threw the body at the mages causing them to split and roll over to their sides and Marcus headed for the one on his left and kicked the tome out the mage's hand and quickly grabbed him and used him as a cover as the mage was burnt alive by his ally.

Ignoring the screams of the mage, Marcus dropped him and dodged repeated fireballs from the last mage in a desperate attempt to save himself only to prove useless as Marcus dodged the fireballs with ease and slammed his fist into the man's head, caving it in the ensuing action.

Dropping the man before him, Marcus finally let out a sigh before he turned back to see a green faced Emmeryn but nodded in understanding for what he needed to do before the doors opened again and Marcus pulled out his sword to strike down the intruder before he stopped.

Because said intruder is actually Philia who went wide eyed and pale as Marcus's blade barely touched her neck. "I would appreciate it very much if you pointed that away from me Sir Marcus." Philia called out before Marcus retracted his sword from Philia, gaining a sigh of relief from her.

"I must say, you're a sight for sore eyes." Marcus commented as Philia looked down and grimaced at the state of the bodies of the assassins before her. "At any rate, do you think you can stay with the Lady Exalt as I go down to clean up the trash with the rest of the Shepherds that are no doubt working?" Marcus asked.

Philia nodded. "While I would prefer to have someone of your prowess guarding the Exalt, clearing out the assassins is of more importance as I am more than capable of protecting the Exalt." Philia said as Marcus nodded and started to leave. 'Just a minute!" Philia called out making Marcus pause and turned to her. "There's been words of a giant rabbit in the castle grounds killing the intruders, do not harm the being if you can." Philia added in.

Marcus just stood there for a moment before he spoke up. "…What's a rabbit?" He asked before he saw wide eye expressions of open disbelief causing him to sigh, "Not from here remember?" He said irritably before the two's eyes shined with understanding before they blushed and looked away.

"Well it's big and furry and has long ears so don't attack that understood?" Philia explained as she coughed and Marcus nodded.

"Got it, see you both when this is all over." He said as he started running out of the hallway and ran to his left where he heard the sounds of battle. "I just hope none of them got hurt or anything like that, else heads will be rolling then squashed." He muttered darkly as he bisected an assassin's head off with his blade when he saw the assassin.

* * *

"This is starting to get annoying now." Marcus groused out in pure irritation as he punched an assassin in the face then slammed his head into the wall before throwing him out the window to fall to his death. "Seriously though, where are the Shepherds at?" Marcus muttered.

So far, he snapped one assassin's neck, stabbed another to death in the throat, smashed the throat of another, punched one with his gauss fist sending that one to slam into the roof, picked up another and threw him down some stairs hitting the other assassins then jumped down and slammed them all with his ballistic fist causing them to explode somewhat, and then there was the one that he snapped both legs stabbed him to death in the eyes.

Yeah, there was only so much killing a man could do before he starts to get bored or annoyed. And in Marcus's case it was a mixture of both, he is starting to get bored of killing all the idiots before him while simultaneously being annoyed by his lack of progress in finding the other Shepherds.

Then he saw a very familiar face facing off against an enemy mage, but without the mask and now has really long hair that confused Marcus to no end as to how the Hell did she hide all that. Not to mention she was also wearing an eyepatch on one of her eyes,

"Marth?" Marcus muttered. "Seriously, why is she here?" Marcus questioned as he then ran up to the mage and stabbed him from behind causing him to die instantly as Marth sighed and was about to put away her sword before Marcus pointed his blade at Marth looking entirely distrustful of her.

"Might I ask why you are pointing your sword at me?" Marth said with complete and utter calm despite the situation that she found herself in at the moment.

"Three times you appeared." Marcus started off. "Each appearance followed by a violent attempt against the Royal Family of Ylisse." He said before he pushed his blade closer into Marth's direction. "The first was the one in the forest with those Risen, the second you appeared as the West Khan's champion fighting against Chrom, and now you appear here on the same night that assassins were here possibly to kill high ranking officials or more likely the Royal Family." He ended.

Marth was silent before she nodded. "I will admit that the circumstances of my appearances have been naught but actions against the Ylisse Royal Family, but I assure that I have nothing to do with these assassins nor did I have anything to do with the Risen in the forest." Marth explained.

"Then what is your purpose here?!" Marcus demanded. "Have you been following us since we entered the capital? It is the only way that you could possibly know where we would be throughout those times." He stated as he narrowed his eyes at Marth. "Answer me!" Marcus demanded.

"…What if I were to tell you that I could see into the future and have foreseen that the Exalt would fall here tonight in this assassination attack?" Marth asked as Marcus's veins bulged at that.

"You expect me to believe that you have some hocus pocus ability to see into the future and somehow know all of that without thinking about how utterly ridiculous that sounds?" Marcus demanded before he scoffed. "You must be an outright loon if you think I would possibly believe in something as stupid as that." Marcus said coldly.

"And the idea of people from appearing from another world isn't?" Marth asked with a small smirk as Marcus's blood went cold upon hearing that causing him to grip his blade tighter and grit his teeth as his mind went into overdrive trying to figure that out. "Looks like I am not the only one with impossible tales." Marth commented upon seeing Marcus's subtle reaction to that.

"Shut up." Marcus seethed out with anger. "How long have you been following us to know that?" Marcus demanded only this time with a hint of true anger. "Even if you didn't follow us and could supposedly see into the future, what makes you think that knowing that tidbit of information is enough to make me trust you?" Marcus questioned once more.

At hearing that Marth's eyes became softer. "I simply wish to prevent a tragedy tonight and I don't want to see good men and women die in an assassination attempt that could be prevented." She said softly. "I know I am asking a lot of you right now, but please." She pleaded. "Let me prove myself and show you that I am honest in my actions right now." She asked again.

There was a silence as Marcus's mind was going through mental lapses and intense thinking before he pulled his sword away from Marth, causing said woman to sigh in relief. "Only because there is a greater threat to the people here right now." Marcus warned as Marth nodded. "I want to know how exactly you know what you know." He added in.

Marth nodded and soon she took out her blade and went with Marcus as they combated with the invading assassins with intense CQC prowess. While Marcus was killing off the assassins, he took note of the way that Marth fought when she was fighting. Again, it was somewhat unnerving to see how similar Marth and Chrom fought but a few things did stand of place as well. She was more acrobatic and leaned towards agility, and she was also adding in punches and kicks that oddly looked familiar to him when he saw it.

Nevertheless, Marcus focused on the conflict before him as they cannot be allowed to harm anymore people here. Soon out in one of the fields he saw a giant animal like being that was covered in fur and had long floppy ears of sorts. It was at that point he realized it must have been the giant rabbit that Philia was talking about.

Marth noticed his look and spoke up. "That giant rabbit is a Taguel by the name of Panne, do not worry about her. She is a very trustworthy comrade." Marth explained as Marcus just simply nodded at that, not really trusting himself to say anything. He would also have to make it a point to read up on the various races and species here in this world as soon as he can.

Soon they reached two paths before them, on the left Chrom and the other Shepherds were fighting off the assassins there where Marth soon ran off to join. Just as Marcus was about to ran after her, he heard explosions and electricity being cackled around followed by a familiar sounding grunt.

At that Marcus widened his eyes and started running the other way. "Robin." He muttered. "I hope you stay safe." He said to himself as he got closer and closer to the noises of battle.

* * *

Robin grunted as she jumped to the side of her right as she breathed heavily as she lifted up her lighting tome with her other hand outstretched to point to the man before her. A dark-skinned man that looked to be quite creepy looking and was wearing a Plegian coat and had some rather bizarre looking hairstyle just smiling creepily at her.

"You will never get to the Exalt scum!" Robin spat out as she glared at the man before her who simply chuckled at her.

"I'm afraid you are very wrong about that, even with all you have done it won't change anything. Not even that weird weapon that one of you brought the other day with Gangrel will change anything." He snickered darkly.

'Then clearly you have never faced Marcus when he gets down to business then you coward.' Robin thought with a small grin on her face.

"I can see that you don't believe me. though I must admit you do look somewhat familiar." The man admitted before his eyes widened in disbelief. "No way! It is you!" He said before he started laughing his head off. "I know I recognized you from somewhere!" He shouted.

The implications of what the man said made Robin's blood go cold and caused her to widen her eyes in surprise. "You…know me?" She breathed out.

The man just continued to laugh at her. "Of course, I know who and what you are!" He said before he leered a bit at Robin making her wholly uncomfortable with him. "But the real question is, do you even know who I am?" He sneered at her.

"…" Robin's silence was all that was needed to make the man laugh his head off.

"How pathetic! To think you have no idea of who I am which shouldn't be that much of a surprise after all." The man said as he shrugged before looking cruelly at Robin. "After all, you have no memories to speak of."

Robin's eyes widened. "You lie!" She spat out. "Just who are you and what do you know of me?" She demanded as she fired lighting at her foe who simply countered it with his own dark magic before he chanted another spell and fired it straight at Robin causing her to yelp and try to counter it with her own but the resulting clash still knocked her back.

As she was groaning she looked up to see the man walking slowly to him with a creepy grin. "I must admit, I did not expect to see you here." He confessed. "But now that you're here, I don't mind taking you with me as a… two for one deal shall we say?" The man said as he reached out for her with his arm.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY ASSHOLE!" A loud and very familiar sounding voice yelled out. As the enemy Mage jerk up in surprise to see where that was…only to get two boots to the face and a slam to the wall for his trouble.

Said Yeller was Marcus who had a running start jump kicked him then landed on his two feet as he pulled up Robin who is very grateful that he was here at this time. "Glad to have you here Marcus." Robin said weakly with a smile. "That guy was pushing me to my limits, I think he's some kind of top tier mage of some sort or something like that." She explained as Marcus nodded.

"Got it, so just get up close and beat him to a pulp then interrogate him for all useful information." Marcus answered. "He's clearly no mook either so he has to be the one leading the group of assassins into the place in the first place." Marcus deduced.

The man slowly got up and groaned as he made a wall of black fire appear before him preventing Marcus and Robin from getting any closer. Then when he saw Marcus he snarled at him. "And you must be the unknown wildcard that made our lives far more complicated." He said with dripping contempt.

"And you; tall, creepy, weird, perverted, loud, obliviously evil…" Marcus started off causing veins to bulge out of the man's face with every description. "…are obviously a Villain cliché so obvious, even an idiot of the highest order can see that one coming from a mile away you loser." Marcus casually insulted as Robin giggled a bit at that.

"And you have quite the mouth on you as well." The man sneered.

"And you look like so silly being cliché like that." Marcus countered.

"Enough!" The man snapped. "Die for me and stay out of my way!" He shouted before a dark spell hummed from his tome and fired it at the duo as Marcus grabbed Robin's hand and pulled her out of the way. "See, you fool!" He cackled. "There is no way you can stand against my might, not when Grima is by my side!" He added in.

Then all of a sudden Marcus threw multiple throwing knives in his direction forcing the man to dodge and then he was forced to dodge once again as Robin blasted him with lightning. He then made a dark blast of energy shot towards Robin and she ducked behind a table and as soon as she ducked the man heard the sounds of quickening footsteps and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Marcus threw himself through the barrier of dark fire and he was on fire and he tightened his grip as his blades were nowhere in sight but on both hands, were his Saturnite Fists and soon he charged at the man as said mage panicked and started throwing spells after spells at him only for Marcus to simply sidestepped and dodge all of them and then he threw the first punch.

Said punch ended up slamming into the tome and knocking it out of the man's hands. The second punch went straight for his chest, caving it in. Then the next punch came aiming for his other arm, disabling it in one go. The next punch came, and crippled his other arm and preventing him from using his tome that was knocked out.

Through his twitching eyes the man saw only the cold empty wrathful red eyes of a man with no face bearing upon him with two gauntlets that were bloodied from punching him hard. "I do hope you're prepared to die painfully." Marcus said rather coldly.

It was at this point the Creepy Man knew he was completely screwed. "Please spare me." He whimpered.

At that Marcus smiled underneath his helmet and if the man saw it, he would have shat himself then and there. "How about no?" Marcus said before he whistled to Robin who grinned viciously at the man who was now being held by Marcus in his power fists.

"First." Robin spoke up. "I give you shock treatment!" She shouted as she cast a thunderbolt straight into the body of the man as Marcus casually use him as a meat shield.

"Second. I give a nice fistful of massaging punches!" Marcus shouted as he threw him up and started punching every last inch of his body and not missing a single shot.

""Then, we relieve you of your ability to move your arms and then end you!"" They shouted simultaneously as Marcus then stopped punching and grabbed him lifted him up even higher and took out his blade as Robin took out her Silver blade then sliced him right through the neck and chest killing him instantaneously.

Both let out a breath that they held in as Marcus quickly picked up the tome that the man dropped and searched through his pockets and found a unique looking gem of sorts. "Well he's done for, let's meet up with the others now." Marcus said soon enough and Robin nodded in agreement.

Then they left and found out that the alarm has passed and that all of the Shepherds were okay and that there were two new recruits that have apparently joined them. The first one was a thief called Gaius who was part of the crew sent to kill Emmeryn and defected upon meeting them here.

Of course, when Marcus heard that he protested and pointed out the point that he is an untrustworthy man that should not to be so close. Chrom argued they left him and Robin in even though they have questionable pasts. Marcus argued that Gaius was part of the Assassins sent to kill Emmeryn. Chrom stated he defected beforehand and joined for candy. Marcus stated that Chrom was being foolish and just got exasperated by what he learned beforehand and just asked Frederick to watch Gaius, to which the great knight agreed to do.

Then there was the woman called Panne, apparently, she had some beef with human because of the fact they purged her race leaving her the sole survivor. As such Marcus was confused as to why she interfered tonight but apparently had a debt to pay to the Exalt Family due to what one of their earlier exalts did for them. Then after some convincing she decided to join the Shepherds. And again, Marcus was left in shock at how quickly Chrom is able to convince people to join up with the Shepherds.

Though for reasons unknown to Marcus at first, she was completely wary of him and actually somewhat frightened by him. Then he learned that Taguel have very strong sense that could be almost like mind reading and apparently, she could smell all of the blood, guts, radiation and other bits that were really unknown and made for a frightening combo.

Though when he heard that Marth left though…

"You have got to be freaking kidding!" Marcus snapped as he slammed the wall with his fist making the gather party flinch as he dented the wall a bit. "Of all the times, she just had to leave before I could ask her what the Hell does she know." Marcus grumbled.

"Sir Marcus, it isn't as bad as you make it out to be now, can it?" Emmeryn asked only to back away a bit when Marcus turned his attention to her.

"Pardon me for being blunt, but she knew that I wasn't from this world." Marcus said gravely as everyone suddenly snapped up in attention. "I just revealed it to you guys today and somehow this woman who came out of nowhere easily knows that I hail from another world and just leaves without telling?" Marcus scoffed. "Something is going on with that woman." He muttered.

Philia soon approached him. "I can understand the amount of confusion you must feel but for now can you at least accept this victory that we have gained this night? I'm afraid asking answers from a person that is no longer here will be a fruitless effort." Philia said kindly.

For a moment Marcus was silent before his shoulder slumped and he simply sighed. "Suppose you're right." He muttered. "But seriously though, just how much information does that Marth have on all of us? If she knows that bit then what's to say she doesn't know anything about you guys as well?" Marcus questioned as everyone grimaced at that thought.

"That is most certainly a worrying thought." Frederick admitted. "But until we see Marth again we would be better off to leave the matter alone until we find her or see her again." He added in.

"I guess." Marcus sighed as Lissa approached him with a pouty look in her face. "What's got you in a twist right now Lissa?" He asked blankly.

"How come you're not surprised when Marth turned out to be a girl?" Lissa demanded as everyone else look to Marcus a bit curiously over that.

"Because I knew that Marth was a girl since we first met her in the forest." Marcus explained as he gained wide eyed looks from Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, and Robin who gasped at him.

"…How?" Chrom asked.

Marcus looked at all of them like they were morons, and in all honesty, he thought that opinion was being a bit nice when he made that description. "You mean to tell me the lack of Adam's apple on her throat, her rather high-pitched voice too high for a man, her somewhat distinctive hourglass figure of sorts, and the fact that her shoulders were not even broad or proportional to her figure didn't give it away to you guys?" Marcus explained as though he was talking to a bunch of kids.

"Well…when you put it like that…" Robin muttered as she started to turn red as she was also one that thought the that Marth was a man but the calm methodical and actual easy points that Marcus pointed out to made her felt rather embarrassed and wondered if she was kind of blind about the whole discerning gender thing. What's next? A man that could easily pass off as a rather attractive woman? Yeah right, as if that could ever happen or actually be a thing. It certainly made her, Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, and the rest of the Shepherds feel embarrassed, that's for sure.

"Again, I must praise you for your keen observation skills, Marcus." Frederick commented as he was actually impressed this time by the keen eye to details that Marcus shown in knowing that Marth was a woman.

"And you could have told us that Marth was a woman before we could have made the wrong assumption about Marth." Lissa added in childishly.

"And I think you guys could use some lessons in being to pay attention to details more often because in all honesty Marth being a woman is actually kind of sad." Marcus replied as the group went silent when they have no way of countering that.

"That's not fair!" Robin protested weakly. "You spent a long time in an environment that requires you to sharpen your attention to details." She added in.

"True." Marcus admitted. 'Henceforth I am going to do my best to train you guys in being able to pay attention to small details when we have the time or chance." He then said before he gained a sadistic smile on his face that made all the Shepherds sweat nervously. "And Frederick's training is going to seem like a walk compared to what I got planned for you guys later."

"Maybe we can do that later Marcus." Chrom added in nervously upon seeing his scary smile.

Marcus nodded a that. "True, not to mention we should get some rest now since it's very late." He admitted before he yawned a bit. "Don't know about you guys but I'm going to hit the hay." Marcus said as the other nodded and started heading off to grab some rest as well.

* * *

As soon as Marcus collapsed on his bed, he remembered that he had something that he picked off of that leader from the assassins. He dug through his pocket and found a precious black gem and stared at it with narrowed gaze. For some reason, this gem has a lot of history and power to it, he wondered why did that leader have it, in fact it looks kind of valuable and something that you might see on the royalty here.

He should probably ask Emmeryn about it later, she might have an idea over the origins of this unique little gem. But for the time being, the gem will remain under his care for now. For all he knows it could be a lost part of history and there was also something that he wanted to ask Emmeryn about as well.

Like what is the Fire Emblem? From the way that Aversa and Gangrel seemed to be focused on, it could be a weapon of mass destruction or something like that. But from the books he picked up, it has been recorded as a national treasure of Ylisse and that it is something that can only be used by the royal family as well as an ancient weapon or artifact used by the Hero King Marth.

Against the Fell Dragon Grima and with the power of the Fire Emblem, Marth was able to kill the Fell Dragon or banish it to some place where it would have to be waiting forever to be summoned once more into the real world.

And from the text that he had read so far, there were said to be gems related to the Fire Emblem in some versions of the legends. Gems that were supposed to help the Fire Emblem awaken its true powers and combined with Falchion would be able to bring about the downfall of Grima and prevent him from waking up for a really long time of the likes.

Could it possibly be that this little gem is…?

Marcus shook his head at that. That would be far too unlikely since in some version of the tales he read through the gems scattered throughout the entire world and were lost to time. The odds of that leader holding onto the gem that was needed to power up the Fire Emblem were one in a million.

And he liked those odds.

* * *

Robin was twisting and turning in worry as she tried to sleep but soon woke up with sweat on her face and she was breathing heavily in her lonesome. As if she was going to get any sleep tonight, not after what she heard from the man that apparently recognized her.

 _No way! It is you!"_

 _"_ _I know I recognized you from somewhere!"_

This brought about some disturbing implications to Robin. It was quite clear to her that she was obviously Plegian by birth and that would mean she was fighting against her own countrymen. But that was not the most disturbing part. The part that disturbed her the most was the fact that she apparently knew that creepy man and from the robes of what Chrom said earlier, he was apparently a high-ranking leader of the Grimleal Cult.

And that meant she was part of the Fell Dragon's insane followers that is actively trying to resurrect Grima to bring about the end of the world at some point in her life. And that made her gag in disgust when she thought about it, she wasted and spent most of her life in a cult of creepy people like that man and was actively trying to resurrect an evil dragon that will bring about the end of the known world?

It was not even the fact that she was part of that cult that disturbed her as much. But the thing that disturbed her so much was that she could have been used by that cult as a slave or something worse even. She actually shuddered when she thought about that and the way that man leered at her certainly didn't make her feel any better or did away with that assumption.

Yeah maybe she should stop this path of thought as according to Philia there were such thing as slavery and there were plenty of very lust driven masters that had their way with the slave girls.

The idea that she may have been a former slave or something like that terrified her to no end and when she thought about that she can only remembered what Marcus said about the slavers back in his world. They were cruelty and evil clad in human skin. Monsters that could do whatever they want, whenever they want, without regard for how the slave would be treated so long as the slaves could still be walking and moving.

Eventually she just stopped trying to sleep and decided that maybe a walk will do her some good and soon found herself outside in the courtyard where the moon was shining balefully at her. She sighed and took a seat on one of the benches and stared at the moon with a wistful look on her face.

"Just what am I supposed to be doing right now?" Robin muttered. "I'm just an amnesic with a talent for tactics and strategies and magic, I'm supposed to guide the Shepherds to victory and here I am worrying over my past right now." She muttered silently.

It wasn't really fair to be thinking about that in her opinion. Marcus lost practically every bit of memory he had, was buried the ground, then dug out, and then was able to fight of a group of convicts with ease and was able to get back on the saddle with no trouble. He just did everything at his own pace and only rushed things when he felt it needed to be talked about.

Why couldn't she be more like Marcus?

He was able to take everything in stride, even when he entered their world he simply just adapted to the situation around him and just continued doing what he can and live. He didn't let anything bound him down, if anything he used the past connections he had made in life to keep on moving forward without trouble and simply powered on through anything that would simply be an obstacle in his way.

He didn't seem bothered by the lack of memories he had and simply walked with a single goal in his mind and that was to keep on moving forward no matter what stood in his way.

And here she was worrying about the kind of past that she may have had even though Chrom told her that her past was not going to be important in the end.

"Just who am I, really?" Robin asked solemnly to the moon that did not answered back to her.


	10. Chapter 9

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt against Emmeryn, the palace was on high alert for any suspicious activities while the Shepherds were granted time off to rest and recover from the long trip to Regna Ferox, then dealing with various bandits along the way, the failed negotiations with King Gangrel, and the assassination attempts against Emmeryn.

Various Shepherds have used this time off to meet up with old friends, sleep in, train, go through books they haven't caught up on, or just doing miscellaneous tasks just because. Such as Sully and Kellam sparring together to see who was stronger between them were. Miriel and Ricken discussing the application of magic in both the battlefield and out of the battlefield. Maribelle and Lissa catching up on some time off and the likes. Frederick taking his time in training Donnel in every weapon he could find that could suit the young boy. Anna trying to sell off her wares to the people. Gaius and Panne getting along due to being the new guys. Lon'qu and Virion talking about the land where Virion hailed from and his old subject named Cherche. Sumia and Chrom spending time together eating pie. Robin reading up on various tactics and strategies.

While Marcus was discussing something of importance that he had suspicions about since the assassination attempts into the palace.

"You believe that there is a traitor or spy to my nation that allowed those assassins to get in?" Emmeryn asked in shock as her eyes blinked at Marcus as he stood still looking quite serious while Philia was escorting the Exalt.

Marcus nodded. "I believe that may be the case in this situation." Marcus admitted. "It is the only possible way that none of the guards on patrol noticed them or seen them else we would have heard the alarms earlier." Marcus explained.

"Even if that was possible." Philia added in, still in disbelief. "What kind of evidence do you have to support that theory?" She asked as she did consider the fact there may be a traitor or spy of some sorts in Ylisse.

Marcus nodded at that before he turned to Emmeryn. "Well the first thing that occurred to me was to check out to see where did most of the Assassins came from first off." He explained getting nods from Emmeryn and Philia. "Then I noticed that the majority of them came from a room that had nothing going for it till I examined the details further to discover a secret passageway that allowed the assassins to come in." He explained getting wide eyed looks from the women before him.

"But there are very few people that know about the secret passages Exalt!" Philia hissed to Emmeryn who simply nodded and now looked sadly at that, now knowing that Marcus's assumptions were not without cause.

"Sadly, this also correlates to what Gaius told me about the way they came in when I talked to him about how the assassins came in this morning during the course of my investigation." Marcus explained. "While I did not know for certain this circumstantial evidence gave me reason to believe that there is a traitor that was aiding the assassins to kill you." Marcus explained.

"And we simply cannot afford to ignore them any longer or put them away as mere tales either." Philia sighed out. "I will go compile a list of people that would have knowledge of the secret passages right away Exalt." Philia reported before she walked away leaving the two in silence, knowing full well that Marcus is more than capable of protecting the Exalt.

There was a silence between the two before Marcus sighed and rubbed his head as he looked to Emmeryn with some degree of sadness and guilt as the Exalt simply had her eyes closed as she shed a single tear over the thought of someone that she knew betraying her.

"Listen Emmeryn. "Marcus started off. "I didn't want to bring up the idea that someone you know might be a traitor but for the sake of the people, can you allow someone like that to cause havoc or chaos doing God knows what in a position of power?" He tried to console.

It didn't do much in Marcus's opinion but it did cause Emmeryn to stir though, so that was a plus. "How am I supposed to run this country if members of my own council or the likes are willing to sell me out for whatever Naga knows?" She asked softly.

Marcus sighed at that. "politics is a cutthroat job." Marcus stated. "You never know for sure whether the people you are working with have the same agenda as you or have their own agenda that sees you as a convenience to have." Marcus said. "That said, there are always people that have organizations large enough set up a special service and the like to deal with this kind of problem." He added in.

Emmeryn tilted her head curiously. "What is that service called?" She asked.

"It's something called Internal Affairs or IA for short, they basically look through all the dirty info and the likes, on people of importance to see if they had done some questionable deeds and look through their history to see if they are corrupt or dirty." Marcus explained. "Mind you, since the Mojave Wasteland was very far away and there was a lot of issues of trying to get the NCR to just move forward, there were no IA agents and I had to be the one to deal with finding spies and the like and dealing with corruption." Marcus explained.

Emmeryn hummed at that. "Internal Affairs." She muttered. "Perhaps when this war is over we can set up a department that specializes in dealing with corruption and the likes, so that way it would be easier for me to run Ylisse." She said in thought of how useful such a service would be useful. But at the same time what she said also caught Marcus's attention as well.

"So, you intend to fight back against Plegia now Exalt?" Marcus asked as Emmeryn nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, but why did you decide to fight back now after all the times you wished to pursue peace?" Marcus questioned as Emmeryn looked at him with a serene look.

"I believe in the words of a world-weary courier, it goes 'War is on my doorstep whether I like it or not.'" Emmeryn said with a small smile to Marcus who blinked at his words being used by her. "Is that not correct Marcus?" She asked calmly.

Marcus simply chuckled there. "Touché." He admitted before he remembered something that he wanted to ask her about. "Ah! There is something that I wanted to talk to you about." Marcus spoke up as Emmeryn nodded to him allowing him to continue as Marcus pulled up the black gem that he picked off of that leader from last night. "Do you know anything about this gem? Because I got a weird feeling from it." Marcus questioned as Emmeryn got closer to examine the gem.

Then Emmeryn picked up the gem and her eyes widen before she gasped in shock and looked at the gem and then Marcus before switch her attention between the two before she looked at Marcus with a firm look. "Where did you get this gem from?" Emmeryn demanded as Marcus held his ground before he serious look.

Marcus raised an eyebrow before he answered. "Remember the assassins from last night?" He questioned as Emmeryn nodded. "I found that little gem on the leader of the assassins when I searched his corpse for anything of use or information to use." Marcus explained as Emmeryn cringed a bit at the body looting. "So, is there anything that you can tell me about the gem Emmeryn?" Marcus questioned.

Emmeryn sighed before she answered. "This gem that you have on you is known as Sable." Emmeryn explained before getting a raised eyebrow from Marcus as she continued on. "This gem is supposed to be property of the royalty of Plegia and one of the five gems needed to activate the Fire Emblem, the royal treasure of the royal family of my homeland." Emmeryn explained as Marcus's eyes bulged out and gasped as well.

"Then…why in God's name is a royal treasure of Plegia in the hands of assassins?" Marcus questioned with a grave look on his face. "Something like this would have been heavily guarded or hidden depth within the capital of Plegia would it not?" Marcus added in.

Emmeryn shook her head. "I do not know for sure." She admitted. "But from what I have heard is that the gem in question was either stolen or gifted to the Grimleal Cult long ago and I know from the robes that some of the assassins wore and the robe the head of assassin you killed, is that they were part of the cult and the leader was either a high-ranking member or perhaps even its leader." Emmeryn answered.

At that Marcus nodded before he paused and looked at Emmeryn warily. "If that was the case…" Marcus started off. "Does that mean you had suspected Robin to be of the Grimleal cult considering how similar their robes looked and the like?" Marcus questioned.

Emmeryn nodded. "I had long suspected Robin to be related to the cult in some way, and judging from some of the markings on the cult she may have been a high-ranking member before she lost her memories." She answered back. "And before you ask why I didn't have her arrested on the spot is because not only would it be going back to what my father would have done, I only suspect that she was too young to be on the position she may have been and was likely born into the cult." Emmeryn explained before she looked to Marcus with a knowing look.

"Children do not inherit the sins of the parents." Marcus recited as Emmeryn nodded.

"it would have been wrong to blame her for anything just because she couldn't control her origins." Emmeryn said. "I have already been forced to deal with that for a long time, and I could not find it within myself to inflict the same suspicions and pain just because of her possible origins." She whispered out.

"And we both know of having to deal with that mess." Marcus sighed out as Emmeryn nodded. "You know." Marcus started off. "When I first met you, I thought you were different than most people and even your brother and sister, but until now I never knew for sure." He confessed before he looked at her straight in the eyes. "You are just like me in a sense." He stated.

Emmeryn simply nodded. "We both had to deal with the mistakes of the past and continue to suffer for it in our own way because of the past mistakes." She said before she looked to Marcus with a kind smile. "I was deprived of my childhood when my father died on the battlefield and I had to run a country whereas the lawlessness of your home deprived you of your memory and your people's right to be safe and not on the verge of being attacked by depraved people and monsters." She stated.

Marcus nodded. "We all have our own roads and trials that life loves putting us through." Marcus sighed out. "But it is what we choose to do that define us, not our past, present, or future." Marcus said serenely.

Emmeryn nodded. "It is perhaps because of the fact that we are similar in a sense that I felt that you were more than what you claimed to be as well." Emmeryn confessed. "I had no idea that there was someone who could possibly know what I have been through or felt. And here you are." She said pointing to Marcus. "Someone who was worse off than me in so many ways, yet you're standing tall and proud letting your actions and choices define who you are, not bound by the chains of the past, the burden of the present, or locked in by the future." Emmeryn said kindly.

Marcus blinked at that before he chuckled. "Now you're making me blush." Marcus said but he looked to Emmeryn with respect in his eyes. "Truly I wished the leaders from where I'm from were more like you. My world could use more leaders that are as thoughtful as you." He added in.

Emmeryn simply smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the compliment, but as for Sable." She spoke up about. "I wish for the gem to remain in your possession, it would be safer with you acting as its guardian for the time being." She requested as Marcus nodded. "Good, now off you go now Marcus. This is among the few rare off days you Shepherds get and I do not wish to take up any more of your time now."

Marcus nodded as he slipped Sable back into his Pipboy. "Well, have a wonderful rest of the day then Emmeryn." He then said as he started to leave now. 'Now who should I spend time with today?' Marcus thought to himself.

* * *

"Ah if it isn't my mailman friend!" Virion greeted cheerfully upon seeing Marcus enter the tavern, as Marcus nodded his head to him. "Come, come dear Marcus have a drink with me there are many questions that I have for you." Virion added in as he patted to the seat next to him.

Marcus soon took a seat with him before he ordered a mug of ale as well and once he took a long gulp he sighed and set it down before looking to Virion. "I must admit I did not expect to see you here Virion." Marcus admitted. "I'd thought you would have gone to one of the hostess bars or the like to flirt with the ladies there or what not." He added in.

Virion nodded. "Indeed, you would have been quite right Marcus." He said before he sighed. "But alas, the hostess club banned after I barely spend time doing anything and said I was bad for business or something like that unless I bring a companion with me." He added in dramatically.

Marcus snorted at that. "Why am I not at all surprised by that?" Marcus muttered to himself as Virion looked offended.

"Now that's being rude Marcus!" Virion admonished. "Simply talking or viewing the lovely ladies is an admirable cause to do for all men." He said dramatically. "Surely with your reputation back home you must have laid or gotten to know all sorts of women correct?" He questioned.

Marcus shook his head in response shocking Virion about that. "Ladies don't like the sweet talk back home unless you were looking at the prostitutes in some of the places." He explained to Virion. "Unless you did some pretty impressive deeds with some of the ladies back home, like I did for Red Lucy." He added in.

Virion nodded at that. "Ah yes, Red Lucy, that was the one you had to retrieve eggs from the most dangerous of animals am I correct?" Virion questioned as Marcus nodded at that. "I must say if I didn't know you any better I would have thought you were insane to hunt down some of the creatures for Red Lucy." Virion said with a shudder of some of the animals and monsters he remembered seeing in Marcus's pictures.

"I was insane." Marcus clarified. "Only the craziest or some of the best fighters would only dare to hunt down the Deathclaw eggs, they were protected by a rather large pack at the time numbering in possibly 10 of them or more at the time, and they were led by an alpha male and female, making them more intelligent than they seem." Marcus explained.

"But you succeeded nonetheless correct?" Virion asked as Marcus nodded. "So, there you have it, you prove to be one of the best hunters in your world then." Virion said cheerfully before his expression got a little bit serious that no one else would have noticed except for Marcus. "But I am more interested in how you were able to take on the Legion, that was by far the most interesting part of your story." He said clearly.

Marcus nodded at that. "Ah yes the Legion." He said in a thoughtful tone. "Back before the alliance between House and the NCR was secured, the NCR came out of a recent war that took out a number of their soldiers and the bureaucracy out there was pretty bad that not enough well trained soldiers were coming in enough, the whole chain of command was a complete and utter mess, and the general in charge of the NCR at the time was known as "Wait and See" as he didn't do anything worthwhile nor did the guy listen tactical or strategic planning with his main strategy to throw numbers to overwhelm them." Marcus said with a sour look on his face.

"My, that sounds pretty bad." Virion said in surprise. "I was surprised that such a man was in a high-ranking position, should they not have kicked him out or not promote him if he lacked such planning?" Virion questioned.

Marcus chuckled mirthlessly at that. "That was the problem, you see when the current NCR president at the time was running to be the leader, the general sponsored him in and he actually got the position due to having powerful connections at the time." He explained to a shocked Virion. "That meant for the whole of the Mojave campaign it was ran by an idiot when he got here." He added in.

Virion shook his head in disbelief. "But you won though." He pointed out. "How in Naga did you win with such an incompetent general leading the war?" He questioned.

Marcus simply just sighed. "You have no idea as to the extent of what I did to basically save all of the NCR at the time." he groaned out. "I had to train up wash up soldiers so to say, take back strategic positions after raising morale, hunt down some nasty raiders, search for spies, deal with refugee problems, hunt down slavers, deal with questionable merchants and possible traitors, rescue NCR prisoners, work out peace deals with other factions and more." Marcus groused out.

"And they couldn't have done that without your aid?" Virion questioned in disbelief. "There has to be a limit as to how incompetent or how worked over they can be."

Marcus sighed. "The general at the time was a complete idiot, but it wasn't always like that. There was a man at one of the major NCR outpost that I stopped by who would have become the general due to merits alone that he did but the president placed the idiot at top because of connections." Marcus explained. "Even then with all that I did to aid the NCR, I knew it wasn't enough. They were going to need firepower and support due to the lack of numbers they had as well as lack of effective firepower. So, I scoured the wasteland for all the factions I could find that would be willing to aid the NCR and the ambassador at the time aided me greatly in finding those factions to help the NCR."

"So, in other words the only reason why the NCR won was because of you?" Virion questioned as Marcus shook his head a bit. "But did you not gather all powers to the NCR side and support them yourself?" Virion asked for clarification.

"Don't get me wrong man, I did gather all the power I could to them, but it was the factions themselves that made the greatest difference though." Marcus explained. "The firepower and numbers that each faction brought were far more valuable than anything that I could have done. Especially when I got House's army up and running, it took me a long time to persuade House and the ambassador to come to an alliance and so they teamed up finally and took down the Legion." Marcus added in.

"But it was because of you though that they succeeded." Virion pointed out.

"I guess." Marcus admitted. "But the only reason why we won was because we worked together to deal with the serious threat to all of us." He pointed out.

"I see." Virion mused. "So, it was because you worked together to defeat a dangerous threat." He muttered.

Marcus noted the way that Virion looked. "You got something you want to talk about man? You know that I am willing to listen." Marcus said kindly.

Virion looked conflicted for a moment before he sighed and looked at Marcus with a tired look in his face. "Since you were honest with all of us, I might as well be honest with you Marcus." Virion said. "But let's not do it here, I prefer to talk in a private spot." He said as Marcus nodded as Virion paid for a room and went up there with him.

Soon they got settled in and Virion looked quite serious. "What I'm about to tell you is something that I have been trying to keep silent about since I have gotten to Ylisse. So please do not judge me until the end." Virion asked as Marcus nodded. "Very well, then let me tell you of a fearsome man known as Walhart The Conqueror…"

( **Three Hours later** )

"…" Marcus was blinking with wide eyes and an open mouth as he looked at Virion, who is currently the very picture of shame right now, and when he regained his sense he could only say one thing. "Fuck me!" Marcus exclaimed.

Virion nodded. "I know Marcus, it is quite the hard tale to swallow."

"I mean don't get me wrong, I believe you and all but right now you're saying there is a very powerful warlord out there." Marcus started off.

Virion nodded. "Correct."

"And he is likely in control of possibly one of the greatest armies in the world right about now." Marcus added in.

"Also correct." Virion admitted.

"And you were a noble from one of the nations that he conquered but you left in hopes of finding other nations to aid you in taking on the Conqueror on and hopefully save your country." Marcus pointed out.

"Quite true."

"But instead you found that the only nation that could possibly help you is now in war with another nation that you have no choice but to get involved with." Marcus deduced.

"Spot on Marcus." Virion admitted.

Marcus was silent before he sighed and rubbed his head. "Damn man, you had some pretty heavy burdens on your back." Marcus admitted. "I don't even know where to go about on helping you out man." Marcus confessed sadly.

Virion sighed. "It was a small hope either way." He admitted. "But the worst part was that I had to leave my people when they needed me the most." Virion said before he chuckled sadly. "By the time I get back there, no doubt the people would just call me a traitor and just exile me."

Marcus was silent for that before he reached over and gripped Virion by the shoulders surprising the archer. "Don't worry man, we'll figure something out." Marcus said soothingly. "We just got to believe that something will come up."

Virion was silent before he gripped Marcus's hands in thanks with a smile of his own. "Thank you for cheering me up Marcus. But either way, once this war is done I will have to go back home and check up on the status of Wallhart's army." He explained to a very understanding Marcus.

Marcus nodded. "You do what you got to do man, but keep in mind that no matter what I will always try to get the back of all my fellow companions." Marcus said.

Virion nodded. "You have my thanks Marcus." He said gratefully.

* * *

"I must say thank you for doing what you can to take care of Raptor while I was dealing with some other tasks before me." Marcus said gratefully to the blonde Pegasus Knight leading him to the roost where Raptor was being taken care of.

As soon as Marcus finished talking with Virion and promising to keep his secret for the time being, Marcus went to where the mounts were kept to check up on how Raptor was doing.

The woman simply just shrugged it off. "It is no trouble Marcus, we have never seen a Wyvern before so we considered it to be a learning opportunity." She explained.

Marcus hummed in acknowledgement. "Well thank you anyways for taking care of Raptor." He said graciously before he found Raptor chewing on a large piece of log that was acting as its chew toy. "Hey there Raptor how are you doing?" Marcus asked the Wyvern causing Raptor to look up.

Raptor then roared happily as he dropped his chewing toy and ran up to Marcus and pinned him down before licking him ferociously getting no ends of laughter from Marcus. The woman that was escorting him was also giggling in delight as Raptor was acting like a very large dog that is happy to see its owner or partner with him.

"He seems to be quite attached to you, despite the fact that Raptor recently belonged to someone else." The knight pointed out as Marcus stopped laughing and turned to her with a goofy grin on his face.

"I've always been good with animals." Marcus spoke up. "They seem to be perfectly at home with me and I even had some animals come to my rescue when I was being ambushed by raiders or slavers back home, it's a pretty useful trait to have in my opinion." Marcus said fondly as he started wrestling Raptor now.

The knight tilted her head in curiosity. "Really?" She questioned as Marcus nodded his head. "I did not think that was possible for anyone to accomplish." She hummed to herself.

Marcus shrugged. "Well apparently it worked well enough that Sumia was taken by surprise when I walked towards her current Pegasus and it started treating me kindly and even give its own version of kisses actually." Marcus explained causing the woman's eyes to bulge out.

"But…but that's impossible!" The woman shouted out. "Pegasus in general cannot stand the male gender unless there are women nearby." She added in. "It has been like that since the beginning of the first Pegasus Knights in general." She explained before looking at Marcus with a sense of awe. "That is truly a fascinating discovery though." She muttered.

Marcus shrugged again. "What can I say? I'm just quite the animal friend is all." He said with a smirk as he managed to pin down Raptor using his legs.

The woman opened and closed her mouth several times before she simply sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I give up." She muttered, earning her a roar of laughter from Marcus for reasons beyond her comprehension.

* * *

"Robin?" Someone spoke up causing Robin to jerk up in her seat in surprise as she looked up to see that it was Marcus who was looking at her in concern. "Why are you sleeping here in your office with books scattered around you?" he questioned with a concerned tone.

Robin laughed weakly at that as she rubbed her head. "Well I wanted to get some studying on all the strategies and tactics I could since Chrom confirmed that we are now at war with Plegia and I wanted to do my part." She explained.

"And let me guess." Marcus soon spoke up. "You stayed here for a long enough time that you got drowsy and fell asleep here in your office." Marcus deduced as Robin nodded weakly at that causing Marcus to sigh. "Robin, you have to take care of yourself as well, studying may be good and all but having our tactician rested is better as that means we are all likely to live longer." He scolded lightly.

Robin nodded. "Right, don't worry Marcus I will be sure to take care of myself better from now on." She said with a small smile before Marcus nodded before he stopped and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Is something the matter?" She questioned in worry.

"Robin." Marcus spoke up again. "How long have you had trouble sleeping?" He asked as her eyes went wide at what Marcus asked. "You do realize that I can see the bags under your eyes, right? So just be honest and tell me what's eating you away right now." He said.

Robin looked conflicted before she sighed and spoke up. "remember the assassins that came through to assassinate Emmeryn?" Robin questioned as Marcus nodded. "Remember that one guy we faced together?" She asked again as Marcus nodded.

"Does this have something to do with the tall, dark, and creepy mage that we gave such a beating too?" Marcus asked as Robin nodded somewhat hesitantly. "What happened between you and that creepy guy before I got there?" He questioned in concern.

Robin looked at him somewhat scared before she breathed and said it. "That man claims to have known me." She confessed.

Marcus blinked for a moment before he spoke again. "He claims to have known you?" Marcus questioned.

Robin nodded as she explains her meeting with the man that she was fighting against and what he insinuated and hinted to her and what this means to her. She spoke about her possible connection to the cult of the Fell Dragon. Her fears of what she may have been involved in while she was possibly among them and more. By the time she finished Marcus was silent in contemplation in thought thinking about her connection to the Cult.

"Have to say Robin, that's a lot to take in, especially since you don't remember anything." Marcus confessed. "But does that really matter though?" He questioned.

"What?" Robin retorted in surprise.

"You know full well like you I also lost my memories in exchange for being able to live." Marcus explained as Robin nodded. "Well you know that I live the way that I wanted to, my past doesn't define the man that I am today. So, what if the Robin of the past was associated with Grimleal Cult? The Robin of today is a proud tactician for the Shepherds." Marcus said kindly.

Robin blinked before she smiled and giggled at that. "I suppose you're right about that." Robin conceded. "Who I was does not tell me who I am." She said softly.

"There you go Robin." Marcus pointed out. "Just live by the way that allows you to live with yourself and you will be okay then."

Robin nodded her head in gratitude. "I suppose you're right about that. The only thing I can do right now is live the way that would allow me to be pleased with myself."

Marcus nodded. "Now that's over, is there anything else you want to talk about?" Marcus questioned.

"Actually, there is something that I wanted to talk to you about." Robin spoke up. "it's mainly related to the weapons that you are using." She added in.

Marcus tilted his head. "Which weapon are you talking about in particular?" He asked. "Do know that I carry many kinds of weapons on me after all." He added in.

Robin nodded. "Noted. But I wanted to talk about the weapons that allowed you to shoot down so many of the Wyvern Riders back in the ambush and some of the other weapons that allowed you to take on the Risen so easily when they first appeared." She said.

Marcus shrugged. "Ask away then Robin." He answered.

"Okay then, is it possible for you to make more of the objects needed to fire those rounds?" Robin questioned.

Marcus simply shrug his head. "There is no way that I can simply make more of the rounds that feed my guns Robin." Marcus replied.

"But why though? Surely it could take some time but you could make more couldn't you?" Robin pressed on for more answers.

Marcus shook his head and sighed. "Robin, it's not so simple as that." He started off. "One of the key components to making the rounds for my weapons require a chemical mixture called gunpowder and to make gunpowder would require a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate." Marcus explained.

"So why don't you retrieve those items or get some of those from town merchants, surely there is someone that would be willing or able to sell those items?" Robin questioned.

Marcus scoffed. "Robin do you know how where sulfur is retrieved or gained from?" He questioned as Robin shook her head. "Sulfur is gained from volcanic regions and last I checked there were no such volcanos here in Ylisse and that's not talking about the other substances needed to make gunpowder."

"What's the issue with gaining the other substances then?" Robin asked. "Charcoal is easily obtainable after all."

"Yeah and where are you going to find potassium nitrate?" Marcus questioned silencing Robin. "Even if I could gather all those materials, I still wouldn't be able to make more rounds for my weapons because I still need to make the casings for the gunpowder to go into and the primers to activate the rounds to make it shoot in the first place." Marcus explained. "Both of which requires specialized equipment to make such things and I don't have access to it nor is Ylisse advanced enough to make such a thing."

Soon Robin was left in silence before she sighed and looked to Marcus once more. "Isn't possible to use more primitive weapons that surely don't require the last two things you said you need to make more of those ammunition?" Robin questioned.

"No Robin." Marcus stated as he shook his head. "I don't have any access or ideas on to how the early shooting weapons were made to begin with and even if I could make it, the metal needed to forge those weapons would most likely be beyond anything that you guys could produce considering your world is still using swords and bows."

Robin sighed once more as her shoulder slumped. "Well there goes for the possible idea of equipping all of us Shepherds with your weapons and just killing everything in sight once it comes down to it." She muttered. "At least we can rely on your weapons to be a good Plan B in case anything goes wrong."

"Oh? So that's what this was all about?" Marcus questioned shaking Robin out of her thinking as Marcus looked somewhat sad at what she said. "Is that all I'm good for? Just being a weapon's smith for you guys to kick ass and take names?" He said with a somewhat sad look on his face.

At that Robin went wide eyed and started to panic as she waved her arms around in panic, "No, no, no, no!" Robin protested. "It's not just that! I do think you are a good ally and friend that we can rely on and you're more than just your weapons Marcus!" Robin quickly got out before Marcus grinned and laughed at her causing Robin to stop whatever she was doing. "You tricked me!" Robin shouted as she pointed her finger at Marcus.

"Of course, I did." Marcus got out before he went back to laughing a bit at Robin's expense causing her to pout at him making Marcus laugh a bit more. "Sorry about that." Marcus said as he wiped away his tears from laughing a bit. "But you really are just too fun to tease Robin." he said with a small smile.

Robin huffed and crossed her arms over her chest looking displeased still. "Well that was still a mean thing that you decided to do just to have fun at my expense." She muttered.

Marcus just hummed at that. "I suppose it was." Marcus admitted. "How about this then Robin." Marcus spoke up again, grabbing her attention. "How about I take you out for a drink? My treat of course." He offered.

Robin blinked at that before she looked at everything around her. "Well…I don't know Marcus, there's lots to be done." She said.

Marcus shook his head. "Robin, you need to be able to take it easy, we aren't going to have that much free time left so best take some time off before we need to get back into business." He stated. "Besides, you need to spend some time out of your office as well." He added in.

Robin looked down in thought before she looked once more. "Okay then." Robin agreed. "Let's make it a date then." She said with a sly smile.

Marcus chuckled a bit at that. "Don't mind if it's you." He added in charmingly making Robin blush a bit.

"Oh, you charmer you!" Robin giggled a bit in reply as the duo left to go out for a drink.


	11. Chapter 10

After several days of recovery, the Shepherds were soon back at work with the announcements from the kingdom that say that Ylisse is at war with Plegia and the civilians are all warned to stay indoors away from the fighting that will happen at some point. Philia soon appointed many of her knights to help guard the strategic locations of the capital, aided by additional guards that were soon brought on continuous guard duty to keep an eye for any Plegian army that may approach them.

Meanwhile in the castle however.

"Emmeryn, you cannot afford to stay here! If there were assassins that could infiltrate the castle as easily as they did then you will be in grave danger!" Chrom argued with his sister desperately trying to convince her to leave. "Go to Regna Ferox where you will be safe from assassination attempts."

"And leave the people here to fend for themselves Chrom? War is now on our doorsteps and you expect me to abandon my people and leave them? What kind of leader abandons her people in their time of need?" I refuse to leave the capital, not when the people need to know that their Exalt stands with them." Emmeryn replied as she made her own point.

"But what if something were to happen to you!?" Chrom exclaimed. "Then the Ylisse would be without a leader to lead them and order will fall!" He added in.

As the argument was going on, their audience was discussing something else entirely. But it was also of importance as well.

"So, at best we will be able to dig our heels in if the Plegian Army were to arrive and invade the capital but chances are we will suffer massive losses, losses that we cannot afford to take with our limited military strength whereas Plegia not only have their army, but also companies of mercenaries at their beck and call correct?" Marcus clarified to two grim faced knights that nodded.

"Correct Marcus." Philia answered. "As you can tell no doubt, we are in a very bad position and we wondered if there was anything that you could do or advise that would allow us to hold out longer or to deal more casualties to them, or perhaps allow our military strength to stand a better chance against them. We need every advantage we can get and you are currently the only one among us with any actual experience in warfare, even if it is a different type of war you're fighting." She answered as she looked at Marcus expectantly.

Marcus just sighed when he saw her look. "Okay then, what do you guys have for defense and the like? Do you have catapults or burning pitch or tar that can be used to defend against warriors trying to climb over the walls, do you happen to have long ranged fighters and close ranged fighters to provide support?" Marcus questioned the warriors.

Frederick and Philia look at each other before Frederick sighed and answered. "To answer your questions about some of our defense engines…we do not have burning pitch or tar and not even catapults to launch rocks even." Frederick admitted as he winced when he saw Marcus's veins bulge a bit. "But we do have a lot of rocks and boulders that we have in reserve for construction purposes as well as a large amount of oil in the events we do need to hold great parties for the royal family!" Frederick quickly added in.

Marcus simply sighed when he heard that. "At least you have something to work with here." He muttered. "All right, we will do it like this." He suddenly spoke up grabbing both of their attentions. "Do guys think you can move some of the largest boulders or rocks you guys have near or in front of the entrances or weak spots on your walls?" Marcus asked as Frederick and Philia muttered to each other before they looked at Marcus and nodded. "Good, then do that, that way the army will have harder time getting in." He answered.

Frederick and Philia nodded. "We will start doing that as soon as we can Marcus, thank you for aiding us where you can." Philia said gratefully.

"Thank me by protecting the powerless people and consider us even." Marcus replied before he looked back to the royal siblings. "We should stop talking now, they seem just about done talking whatever it is they are talking about." Marcus added as both knights nodded.

Soon Chrom and Emmeryn walked up to them as Chrom looked tired but victorious while Emmeryn looks calm but somewhat reluctant now.

"Have you come to a decision Lady Exalt?" Philia soon spoke up and questioned.

Emmeryn closed her eyes and sighed. "I have been given many reasons and after some thought, I have decided that I will retreat to Regna Ferox for safety." She said as both Frederick and Philia nodded.

"Understood then Exalt Emmeryn, we shall begin packing up immediately." Philia said as she left to pack up all necessary provisions and supplies for the travel.

"And I shall deliver the news to the Shepherds as well to tell them of our next mission." Frederick stated as he left soon after.

Thus, Marcus was left alone with the siblings, Robin would have been here if it weren't for the fact that late last night, Gaius fell on top of her when he was trying to sneak into the kitchen to steal some of the sweets that they had recently made. But then he got a healing staff to the face and lost his grip and fell down and knocked out Robin.

Marcus looked to the siblings with raised eyebrows now. "So then ready for a long trip to Regna Ferox Exalt? Because depending on how it goes it may take us a while to get there. Actually, the better question is, do you have warm clothes to wear in the Winter? Because Regna Ferox can get quite cold as Chrom and Lissa could testify about." He started asking with concern.

Emmeryn was taken aback but saw the concern that he had for her and did her best to answer Marcus while Chrom was stifling a snicker since he had seen Marcus's mother hen attitude before.

There was the time he took Ricken out shopping for better tomes and escorted him as he was trying out new tomes for his usage, he also taught Donnel some useful close quarter combat techniques so he can do better on the battlefield. He once again taught Lissa how to sew and learn how to preform field medical operations. He groomed Sully's horse to prep her horse for battle. He talked considerably with Kellam. He sparred and talked with Lon'qu. He even went as far as forcing Robin to get out of the office to get some time in the fresh air. He even gave Sumia some old books his world on romance.

* * *

The Shepherds soon left the capital with Emmeryn and Philia in their entourage plus another man that none of the newer Shepherds knew that well. The walk was going well and slow so not to exhaust themselves when they get closer to Regna Ferox, where the cold will, without a doubt, sap them of even more of their energy.

It was also during this time that Marcus was finally taking out Raptor for a flight and he was loving every minute of it as he flew around in circles and loops with a wide grin on his face under his helmet.

"THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!" Marcus cheered out laughing as Raptor roared in affirmation and did a barrel roll in the sky as Marcus hung upside down from Raptor using his legs to grasp him. Before Raptor flipped over and Marcus gave out a roaring laughter as he did it.

Robin chuckled delightfully as he saw the way that Marcus was enjoying flying in the air already and he did it without any training as well. "It seems our mailman now has a mount that will allow him to deliver his messages even faster now." She said with a twinkle in her voice.

Sully besides her just laughed a bit. "Yeah and now he's going to be even more dangerous in combat." She added in before she got a wide smile on her face as she stared at Marcus with a growing desire to fight him. "I really want to fight with him again, he's full of surprises that would make him really fun to fight." She said longingly.

"Get in line Sully, because the Vaike has to settle the bar with Marcus first." Vaike interjected. "Besides, I still need to pay him for that match in Regna Ferox where he made me look like a fool." He grumbled.

"You already do that well enough on your own." Lissa laughed in. "All you do is yell and charge at him and he just sidesteps you and trips sending you falling on your own in all your matches." She said mirthfully. "Maybe if you actually think then you wouldn't be losing to him all of the time." She said with a far too sweet smile.

Vaike scowled as the other laughed at his embarrassment. Meanwhile further away Emmeryn and Philia had amused smiles on their face when they heard what just transpired.

"It seems that Sir Marcus is in quite the high spirits for the first time since I've met him." Emmeryn commented with a smile on her face.

Philia nodded. "It seems so, he was always so serious or calm about everything he has done, but to see that he has such a side like this." Philia mused. "It makes you wonder just how much about Marcus that we know yet do not truly know about the man himself." She said thoughtfully.

Emmeryn nodded in agreement." Indeed." She said calmly and soon she lost her smile when the man came by looking quite nervously and staring at Marcus distrustfully.

The man was the Hierarch of House Ylisse, he had been in office for many years and had even helped guide Emmeryn during the early days of her rulership. Emmeryn know that he could be trusted but at the same time he has been suspicious as of late and if she was correct he was the traitor to Ylisse and it broke Emmeryn's heart knowing that.

"Lady Exalt." The Hierarch soon spoke up. "Are you sure that you should be placing trust in allowing that man to accompany us?" He questioned. "He seems to be a wild brute with no care for what he does in the world. Someone like him should not be with us, as he seems to have flights of fancy as he does right now." The man said as he pointed to Marcus.

"Peace Hierarch." Philia soon spoke with a hint of steel. "You need not to worry for out of all of us here Marcus has the least if not, none to gain from betraying us." She said firmly.

The Hierarch nodded nervously. "I understand but still he's a foreigner though." He pointed out. "We do not know what kind of plans or agenda he might have for our nation." He said stubbornly.

"Then allow me to reassure you then." A voice suddenly spoke up as the group quickly jerked up to see Marcus falling from Raptor at a low height and landing on his feet in front of the trio before him. "I have no plans to take over Ylisse or use Ylisse for my own means because the amount of effort needed to do that is very annoying." He said as he walked closer to the Hierarch. "Just because I'm a foreigner, it doesn't mean I'm a monster like you assume I am." He said this time with no inflection of emotion.

And thus, the Hierarch felt true fear that day. And the way that Marcus spoke just utterly terrified him.

"Marcus! Do not terrify the Hierarch like that." Emmeryn scolded lightly upon seeing the way that her Hierarch paled in fright at the way that Marcus spoke and acted. "You're supposed to be protecting him as well."

Marcus simply nodded and bowed to her. "My apologies Exalt." Marcus said calmly though with a hint of deference to her. "I shall strive not to terrify your Hierarch again by simply talking plainly." He added in before he walked away and soon jumped as Raptor flew by closer to the ground to pick him up.

The man quickly gathered his courage now that Marcus was no longer there. "Exalt Emmeryn, I beseech you to not allow this man to accompany us any further than he has too." The man hissed.

"There will be none of that happening Hierarch." A voice called out from behind them revealing it to be Chrom followed by Frederick. "Marcus has proven to be a great and honorable warrior and I will not have you question his integrity." Chrom said firmly.

The Hierarch meekly bowed down to Chrom. "As you wish sire." He muttered quietly before he started walking away from the group not noticing he's attract glances from the group before.

Chrom looked back to where the Hierarch was walking and noticed that kept on fiddling with a piece of paper in his pocket before he sighed and looked back to his sister. "He's hiding something." Chrom declared.

Emmeryn nodded. "Yes, I had suspected as much myself. Perhaps realized it when Marcus came by to visit me a couple days ago warning me of the possibility of a traitor among our ilk." She said before she gazed at the Hierarch sadly. "I just wished it wasn't him." She sorrowfully said.

Chrom nodded in understanding. "He was like a father to me." He sighed out. "He taught me to be a better man and that I was not the shadow of our father." He stated with closed eyes.

"Lord Chrom?" Frederick soon spoke up in concern for his charge.

"Bring me Robin." Chrom ordered. "I have a feeling that we are going to encounter trouble soon." He stated as Frederick nodded and soon he left and came back with Robin by his side.

"You called Chrom?" Robin questioned as Chrom nodded. "What do you need me for?" The woman asked as she tilted her head not realizing that she was paying attention to a certain Courier this way.

"Well we need your advice in the events that we are ambushed along the way as to be better prepared if that does happen." Chrom said.

Robin nodded at that. "Then I've got a few plans in mind." She said. "I've been implementing a few ideas ever since I have seen the Wyvern Riders that Plegia seems to have keep." She added in as she started explaining her ideas to Chrom and Frederick who were listening with an interested look on their faces.

Soon after Robin finished explaining her plans Chrom nodded heartily at the ideas that Robin brought out. "It would seem to work for the most part." Chrom admitted. "But do you think everyone would be prepared to pull off such a feat in an instant?" He questioned.

Robin waved that off. "Of course, they will." She said confidently. "Each and every one of us is a well-trained warrior in our own rights and even Donnel is starting to adapt rather quickly especially with the bow and arrow right about now. Isn't that so Frederick?" She questioned the Great Knight before her.

Frederick nodded in agreement. "Indeed, my lord, it would seem that despite appearing to be a simple villager, Donnel is very well adept at using weapons." He explained.

Chrom nodded at that. "So now it is only a matter of if or when the enemy will arrive." Chrom muttered and as he said that Sumia came back looking quite panicked on her Pegasus looking quite pale.

"CAPTAIN! A huge number of Wyvern Riders is heading our way and all are bearing the symbols of Plegia on their armor!" Sumia reported quickly and in panic.

Chrom cursed and looked to the rest of his Shepherds. "Shepherds prepare for combat!" He ordered as all of them nodded and starting to prepare and Chrom tried to find the Hierarch, he heard the man's scream and looked to where the scream came from and saw that Marcus was reading a piece of paper and that Raptor had one of his heavy feet on top of the Hierarch snarling at the man.

Though Chrom could not see what Marcus's face look like underneath his helmet, he could make some fair assumptions based on how after Marcus finished reading the paper he looked at the Hierarch and his fingers were twitching.

"So." Marcus soon spoke up grabbing everyone that was not paying attention to what Marcus was doing already to him. "You think you can betray us and not expect to suffer for your crimes?" He questioned darkly.

Most of the Shepherd's eyes went wide whereas Chrom and Emmeryn closed them in sorrow. "So, it is true." Chrom whispered.

"Please don't kill me." The man whimpered as Marcus whistled to Raptor causing his Wyvern to step even harder in the Hierarch causing him to choke somewhat.

"Congratulations. You have earned yourself a one-way ticket to the deepest and darkest level of Hell reserved for only traitors and backstabbers and now you're going to make yourself useful now." Marcus said coldly as he whistled to Raptor again, causing said Wyvern to get up from the Hierarch as Marcus then grabbed him by the neck and steered him in front of the enemy group.

"What are you doing?!" The Hierarch shrieked in fright.

"Putting you to use." Marcus answered as the enemies arrived. "Listen up you bastards! I got your spy now back off or he dies!" Marcus shouted.

One of the Wyvern Riders sneered. "Seems they figured out the little piggy after all." As the rest of the Plegian Forces stayed where they were wanting to see how this setback will play out.

"Please help me." The Hierarch pleaded. "I brought them here and did everything I was told to do! Validar and Gangrel said I could live if I assisted them."

"And that's the problem there!" The Rider shouted out. "Validar got himself killed when head those assassins the other night and now he's gone and dead men can't keep promises!"

At that Marcus's eyes widened a bit as he now knew the identity of the leader. "So that was the name of the creepy pervert." Marcus muttered.

"However." The rider went on. "I am feeling generous so take one of their lives and we will allow you to piggyback on one of our mounts back to Plegia after we spill their blood of course." He added in as the Hierarch paled in fright.

"Really?" Marcus deadpanned to the Hierarch. "You really want to make your situation even worse right about now?" He questioned as the Hierarch shakily pulled out a dagger and then started to point it to Marcus. "And thus, the world weeps as another man does something incredibly stupid." He muttered as he grabbed the dagger before it could be used to stab him and then broke it with his bare hands.

The little display of strength shocked the Wyvern Riders long enough for Marcus to pull out a Bottlecap Mine from his inventory and then attached it to the Hierarch's back before in an astonishing display of strength threw him at the Riders crashing into them.

Then Marcus took off in the opposite side running away. "You might want to hide or take a really nice long step back." Marcus warned. "Because just a heads up, your traitorous Hierarch is about to go off with a bang." He warned as the Shepherds widened their eyes and backed away as the Plegian Riders tried to get the Hierarch off of them.

"Get off me you fool!" The Rider snapped back as the Hierarch's terrified expression prevented him from moving.

"No! I did as I was told now take me to Plegia now! I fulfilled our bargain." The Hierarch pleaded not noticing the beeping sound coming from him.

But the Rider did as he frowned. "Where is that infernal noise coming from?" He demanded as he saw the contraption and soon it stopped beeping. "What kind of contraption-" He was about to say till the device went off.

*BOOM*

The explosion killed everyone in its blast radius as the survivors were blown away and knocked to the ground all screaming and moaning in pain.

Everyone in Marcus's group were shocked at what they saw and turned to him with wide eyes as Marcus nodded. "Don't like wasting caps considering they're the currency of my world but since they have no value here might as well put them to use." He nodded to himself.

Robin mechanically moved her head to Marcus and before Marcus knew it, he was tackled by Robin who had a very intense look in her eyes. "You need to make more of those now." She breathed out heavily. "They will be key to many desperate situations and amazingly useful." She said as she gained a maniac grin on her face.

"let's…deal with the remaining foes first before we talk about me making awesome weapons for destructive purposes okay?" Marcus quickly said as he went wide eyed at the way that Robin was acting right now, and he liked it for some reason.

Robin blinked and looked at the position she was in and from the way that the other Shepherds were smiling at her she looked as though she was about to kiss Marcus. The thought of kissing Marcus made her blush and get up instantly as she tried to regain her composure and coughed to clear her throat.

"Right then so let's clean up these invaders, now shall we?" She said quickly as she ran up with her magic tome and silver sword as the others around her chuckled a bit at the way that she acted around Marcus before Robin drowned their laughter out with the dying screams of her foes.

Marcus on the other hand just blinked as Chrom and even Frederick were smiling at him. "What's so funny to you two?" He demanded to know.

Chrom just shrugged. "Just seeing the way, you two interact is all Marcus, a rather unique way to bond with someone if you don't mind me saying." He explained.

Marcus scoffed and got and started walking to the where the remaining Plegian Warriors were before he stopped and looked at Chrom. You want to know something interesting Chrom?" Marcus questioned.

Chrom blinked but nodded. "Sure, go ahead Marcus." He said.

"…I have absolute no idea as to how a normal relationship work at all." He admitted perplexing Chrom long enough as Marcus started racing off with the other Shepherds to join in on the fight.

"Well…that was something new." Chrom admitted before he started running off to where the rest of the Shepherds were as well and ended the lives of the enemies sent to kill them.

A quick clean up soon after followed by the appearance one Pegasus Knight that Sumia instantly recognized as Cordelia soon showed up with bad news.

"Lady Exalt! Prince Chrom! I bring terrible news, more Plegian Forces are coming not a half a day's march away from behind you." Cordelia shouted as panted a bit.

"But why are you here Cordelia?" Philia asked in concern. "Tell me that the borders are still secured."

Cordelia shook her head. "The Plegian Forces are led by Gangrel himself, it would have been the end of me if it wasn't for the begging of my sisters in arms begging me to fly off and warn the Exalt…" Cordelia reported as she tried to blink back tears in her eyes. "I should have stayed…I should have stayed." She nearly whimpered out as Sumia reached out to hug her friend.

"Just let it all out Cordelia, I'm here for you." Sumia said soothingly as Cordelia hugged back and started crying a bit.

"It was terrible!" Cordelia cried out. "I could still hear their screams as I flew away." She sobbed out as she looked to Philia who had her eyes closed in sorrow of her lost knights. "Just what am I supposed to do Captain? They were my family." She got out before she went back to sobbing.

Robin and Chrom looked absolutely livid with what they've heard. Marcus simply lowered his head and held up his hands in a small prayer that Joshua once showed him so long ago as a way of honoring or praying for the dead.

Emmeryn closed her eyes for the time being before she opened them again. She had made a mistake and she needed to rectify it. "I will return to capital." She said shocking all those that have heard her.

"Your grace, I cannot…" Philia tried to argue back as Emmeryn raised her hand up.

"I never should have left, if it's discovered that I was away when this happened. The people will panic, riot, and more leading to the countless deaths of all the civilians." She replied calmly as everyone was in silence in shock. Before she went to one of the boxes and opened one up to reveal a unique looking shield. "Chrom I entrust you with the Fire Emblem." She said.

Marcus immediately took note of the Fire Emblem and noticed that it was large and could be used as an actual shield as well as one gem attached to the top of the shield where there are four more holes the same size as the gems for most likely for the five gems. 'And I have Sable safely stored in my possession.' Marcus thought to himself.

"Why are you giving this to me?" Chrom questioned as he shakily took the Fire Emblem into his own hands.

"Take it to Regna Ferox where the Fire Emblem will be safe." Emmeryn softly said putting Chrom on high alert.

"No! I am not abandoning you Emm!" Chrom refused.

"No part of House Ylisse matters more than the Emblem, it possesses amazing power, but far too much blood has been shed over it already. I hope it finds a better guardian in you than it did me." She explained.

"Emm, please don't talk like that! It sounds like you are already giving up!" Chrom said in panic.

"I am not giving up, I am simply doing what I can for our people." Emmeryn sighed out.

"Wait!" Lissa suddenly shouted as she grabbed into Emmeryn's arm. "At least take me with you." She pleaded.

Emmeryn shook her head. "Stay with Chrom, Lissa, I commend it." She said firmly.

"This isn't fair!" Lissa teared up. "I know that the people need you but me and Chrom also need you as well." She added in sadly.

"Dry your tears Lissa, for this will not be the last time we see each other." Emmeryn said trying to reassure her but failing as Lissa teared up still.

"Then your Grace, allow me to accompany you back to the capital at the very least. I am prepared to do so." Philia said.

Emmeryn nodded. "Thank you, Philia." She said before she walked over to Robin and Marcus. "I have much to thank you two for and even though I know I am asking a lot, I must ask a favor from you two."

"Whatever it is, I am willing to help fulfil the favors." Robin said firmly.

Marcus simply nodded. "Ask and you shall receive."

"Chrom and Lissa mean everything to me and I would not have been able to live as well as I have without them by my side." She said before she turned to Robin first. "I humbly request that you continue to guide the Shepherds as well as you have throughout their battles." She asked of her.

Robin nodded. "Don't worry I am not going to let anything happen to your brother or sister for as long as I still draw breathe." She promised.

Emmeryn nodded her head in appreciation. "Thank you so much for what you have done, since the day that my brother first found you, you have been nothing more than a blessing upon my people." She said gratefully.

Robin simply just blushed and rubbed her head. "I did what I could do and I am no more special than anyone else." She replied.

"But nevertheless, thank you for everything you have done Robin." Emmeryn thanked nonetheless before she turned her attention to Marcus. "And as for you." Emmeryn started off. "You have been nothing more than a gift since you have arrived here in this world." Emmeryn praised.

Marcus smirked underneath his helmet. "Just doing what I can Emmeryn, just doing what I can is all." He shrugged off nonchalantly.

"Is that so?" Emmeryn questioned with her own smirk. "Waking up in a whole new world, then immediately dispatching raiders and bandits and protecting the civilians of the village. Watching over my brother and sister and even protecting them from the Risen when they first appeared and you effortlessly protect them. accompanying my brother as one of his many Shepherds, aiding him in the tournament so he can focus on Marth, and even revealing your secrets to protect Maribelle and all of us, and you saved me from the assassins that very night and giving up all your secrets in the name of honesty is what you considered to be just doing what you can?" She asked of Marcus.

"Just doing what I can." Marcus affirmed his statement before he spoke with a softer tone. "The world could always use more people just doing what they can to help out in their own ways."

Emmeryn smiled and nodded at that. "Then may I request that you take off your helmet Sir Marcus?" Emmeryn asked.

Marcus obliged and took off his helmet and allowed the Exalt to stare into his hard yet warm chocolate eyes. "And now?" He questioned then what Emmeryn did next surprised everyone there.

She gently held Marcus's head and leaned in and kissed him on the cheeks and pulled back. "Consider this to be my thanks for protecting me the night that the assassins came and I ask of you to protect my siblings as you always have."

Marcus in a daze blinked back to conscious and nodded vigorously. "Of course, Emm, I got both your brother and sister's back." He replied not noticing he got a jealous and pouty look from Robin right behind him, who simply huffed and turned her head away.

Emmeryn nodded and stepped back to join Philia who finished instructing Cordelia to join up with the Shepherds, who was rather reluctant to do so but did so anyways.

"Fare the well, everyone." Philia said to them. "May we meet once more under better circumstances." She said as Chrom rushed up to Emmeryn to try and talk to her one more time.

"Emmeryn you don't have to do this!" Chrom shouted before he was forcibly restrained by Marcus. "Let me go Marcus! I cannot allow my sister to walk to her own death!" He shouted as he struggled to get out of Marcus's grip.

"Your sister is doing what she believes to be best for her country, let her do her duty Chrom." Marcus retorted.

"Screw duty that's my sister!" Chrom argued back.

"Chrom!" Marcus shouted this time as Chrom flinched and calm down. "Your sister wants to protect you and this country, don't make this any more difficult than it has to be man." Marcus asked but Chrom could hear the silent plea from Marcus as well.

This isn't easy for Marcus to accept either, he wanted to protect the Exalt and see her be safe as well. Chrom calmed down and sighed. "Very well Marcus." Chrom said solemnly as Marcus let him go.

"I love you Chrom, both you and Lissa. I am sorry that I could not forge the peace that I have been trying to accomplish for so long, I truly am. Let us meet once more back at the capital with the army of Regna Ferox." Emmeryn said to them, most poignantly to Chrom and Lissa.

"Please come back sis." Lissa weakly called out as she raised her hand to where her sister would be only to be gently stopped by Lon'qu.

"Remember that the blood of the First Exalt that flows through our veins, you and I will keep Ylisse safe in our own ways. Have a safe journey Chrom, Lissa." Emmeryn said as she soon left with Philia by her side.

As Emmeryn got farther and farther away from them. Chrom just fell to his knees in despair as Lissa started crying as Maribelle tried her best to comfort her, and Robin closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

Marcus simply prayed to God, as he always had since meeting Joshua and Daniel, to protect Emmeryn. A woman that Marcus saw as a friend. "May God watch over you Emmeryn." Marcus prayed solemnly.


	12. Chapter 11

Emmeryn leaving the group to go back to the capital put everybody's mood in a damper. But the ones that were most affected by her leave were no doubt Chrom and Lissa. But they continued onwards to Regna Ferox. Everyone remember that and knew that since Emmeryn was going back to the capital, time was of the essence and rush themselves even faster to get to Regna Ferox to make up for lost time and to get the reinforcements as well.

Once they arrived in Regna Ferox many of the Shepherds went off to rest and recover from the increased rapid march to the place and some can be seen training or doing other various activities to keep their mind off of the current situation of the Plegian Army approaching the capital of Ylisse with Emmeryn and Philia still there.

Marcus was soon walking down to the training room to get some practice in to help take his mind off of what happened so far today. But before he could take his mind off of what happened today he soon saw the redhaired Pegasus Knight friend of Sumia, Cordelia, training there by herself. And from the way that she seems so intent on destroying that dummy into nonexistence, Marcus decided to talk with her.

The poor woman looks like she could use a friend to talk to in all honesty right about now.

"You know, if you keep hacking away at that dummy it will become dust, eventually right?" Marcus spoke up as Cordelia jerked in surprise as she turned to see Marcus walking over to her with a calm look on his face.

"Ah, Sir Marcus." Cordelia said before she saluted to him, weirding Marcus somewhat out as he isn't used to that level of respect in general. "Is there something you need with me, sir?" Cordelia questioned.

"First off, cut it out with the sir stuff. In the Shepherds, we aren't that formal." Marcus started off as Cordelia raised an eyebrow at that, no doubt somewhat perplexed by the lack of formality among them. "Second, I wanted to check up on you after what happened today…I know what you must have gone through can't have been easy." Marcus added in softly.

At that Cordelia flinched. "Ah it is nothing to be worried about Marcus, nothing to burden yourself with." She said with a fake smile on her face.

"Cordelia." Marcus sighed out. "It's not healthy to keep that kind of emotions bottled up, you have to let it out you know?" Marcus said kindly.

Cordelia shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about, really. I can carry my own burdens just fine." She stubbornly insisted.

"It isn't." Marcus retorted causing Cordelia to flinch once more. "Cordelia whatever you have to or want to say I swear upon my honor that what you say will only be between the both of us." He answered.

"…For so long I have trained hard to push my skills to be nothing more than perfection." Cordelia started off sadly. "But because of that I was teased and was the subject of insults as a result." She said before she paused. "But it was only when they died that I learned that the insults and so on was just the ritual hazing of a new recruit." She added in regretfully.

Marcus was silent but simply put his arm on his shoulder. "I am so sorry for your loss, no one should ever have to go through such a shit storm." Marcus said somberly as the floodgates were open for Cordelia's emotions once more as she started crying and this time into his arms.

Marcus simply didn't know what to do so he just let her cry into his arms as he patted her in comfort. Marcus really wished there was more that he could do but for now he could only be that shoulder for someone to lean on is all he could do at the moment right now.

"I only wish I could have spent more time with them!" Cordelia bawled out. "I wish I had gotten to know them better, then I wouldn't have to learn how much they loved me in those last awful moments!" She cried out to Marcus who simply held her in his arms. "I regret not being able to understand them better, I wish I could have understood them better before the end." She sniffled out.

And for a while, Cordelia simply tightened her grip on Marcus as she bawled into his chest as he held her until she finally managed to stop crying. Or better yet, get it under control now.

"I'm sorry I really needed to get that off my chest." Cordelia sniffled a bit as she looked away in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it." Marcus shrugged it off. "We all have our own ways of dealing with grief after all. And letting it all out is a healthy way to express your grief." Marcus said.

Cordelia sniffled once more. "Did you lose someone important to you as well?" Cordelia asked before she blinked at the question." Ah please don't mind what I was trying to ask and I'm sorry if that sounded offensive or anything!" Cordelia panicked when she asked that only or Marcus to put his finger on her lips to silence her.

"First off, that's a reasonable question to ask when you're feeling down and as for an answer to that question. I never really lost someone important but I had plenty of friends who did lose important people." Marcus said as he sadly remembered many of his friends.

Cordelia hummed at that. "If you don't mind telling me, would you be willing to tell me who they lost?" Cordelia questioned softly.

Marcus sighed upon hearing that question. "Well my first buddy lost his wife and unborn child to slavers." He said with a grimace as Cordelia gasped as she put her hands over her mouth. "The slavers that I've dealt with were inhumane to say the least and the worst part was the fact he was the one to decide putting down his wife and kid so they wouldn't suffer a fate worse than death." Marcus sighed out.

Hearing what happened to Boone's wife always reminded him of why he refused to assist Caesar's Legion and always made him kill every last one of those scumbags on sight.

"That's horrible!" Cordelia gasped out in shock and horror permeating her whole being.

Marcus nodded grimly. "And another one of my friends lost her husband to raiders but didn't know about it till I confronted the guy that knew what happened to him and had to break the news to her as well." He also admitted.

Waking Cloud did not deserve to be lied to like that. Daniel should have been honest with her from the beginning. A family is only as strong if they can trust in each other.

"Cordelia was silent and closed her eyes when she heard that until she opened again to look at Marcus in the eyes. "You must have been privy to lots of tales of loss, haven't you?" Cordelia asked somberly.

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, and it doesn't get any easier, not in the least." Marcus somberly said. "But it is the least I could do for them, be the guy willing to lend his shoulder and his ears out for those that need it." He added in calmly.

Cordelia soon smiled genuinely this time. "You really are a nice guy you know that?" Cordelia praised kindly.

Marcus smirked at that. "Wouldn't be the first time and I don't believe this is going to be the last time either." Marcus said as Cordelia laughed a bit at that.

"Marcus, thank you for taking the time to just listen to my woes it really did help me a lot." Cordelia said with gratitude in her voice.

"It's no problem Cordelia." Marcus said before he looked through the windows. "Suppose I should start going to bed now, it's getting late then. Good night then, Cordelia." Marcus said as he left for the night.

"Good night Marcus." Cordelia said in return.

* * *

Marcus was lying somewhat, he wasn't to go straight to bed. He was actually going to stop by Chrom to check up on him and then check up on Lissa. The poor guys were forced to be separated from their big sister and now they don't know for sure as to whether or not been captured by the Plegian Army.

Marcus soon heard some words being talked from the arena that they had fought in for the position of the superior Khans in, and found that Chrom was being consoled by, surprisingly, Lissa and Sumia. And it seems that Lissa was willing to give up her own emotional needs to cheer up her big brother. And as a result, Lissa instantly scored major respect points from Marcus.

"She'll be safe Chrom, don't worry about that, okay? Big Sis will be safe inside the castle not to mention the fact that Philia and the others are also guarding her as well to the best of their abilities. And Flavia is calling up her best soldiers to fight with us as we speak. We will make it home in time, you got that Chrom?" Lissa consoled her brother who was more interested in spacing out right about now.

"…" Chrom was still silent even after Lissa tried talking to him, seeing Chrom like this worried Marcus to no end and it would be detrimental to the morale of the Shepherds if they were to see Chrom like this.

"Marcus?" A voice called out causing Marcus to turn to see that it was Robin. "What are you doing here this late?" She asked quietly.

"I could ask the same of you as well, Robin." Marcus retorted causing her giggle a bit. "But honestly I was about to go to sleep when I saw this happening." He explained then motioned to where the three stooges were.

Robin peered over Marcus's shoulder and nodded. "It can't be easy on Chrom to deal with this." She sighed out.

Marcus nodded. "Quite but at the same time he does have to get over it, otherwise he won't be able to lead us properly as well." Marcus pointed out.

"Point." Robin admitted before she peered over his shoulder again. "Now let's be quiet I think Chrom is about to finally speak again." She said as Marcus nodded before they knelt down to eavesdrop on them.

"Chrom! Say something will you?" Lissa demanded as she waved her hand furiously in front of Chrom.

"I'm sorry what did you say Lissa?" Chrom muttered out, still completely dazed out.

"Ugh! Forget it then!" Lissa groaned out as she rubbed her head for a moment at the sheer apathy that Chrom was showing right about now.

Sumia then stepped forward frowning at Chrom. "Snap out of it captain!" Sumia shouted before she belted Chrom across the cheek, with her armored gauntlet no less. Causing Chrom to fall to the ground and groaned as she he cradled his bruised cheek.

Marcus and Robin at this point could not help but snicker at the way that Sumia belted him in the face and had a hard time trying not to fall over to the ground and laugh their asses off.

"OW! What in Naga's name was that for?!" The Prince yelled as he clutched his jawline in pain, now feeling all the pain on his nerves now.

"Oh no!" Sumia yelled as he knelt over Chrom in worry and guilt. "I've been told from Captain Philia that a good slap to the face will break someone out of their daydreaming." She explained.

At that Marcus lost it completely and he fell over laughing his ass off as Robin was no better as she was shaking and leaning on the wall giggling at what happened. When the trio turned to see the Wildcard and the Tactician laughing at them, one of them turned red, another started giggling as well, and the third just moaned in pain.

Three guesses for which of the three Shepherds did what and the first two don't count.

Sumia was flabbergasted at who appeared. "Marcus? Robin? What are you two doing here?" She asked in surprise.

Marcus snickered for a bit before he finally responded. "Well initially I was going to get some training done but some other things came up beforehand and then I got tired and decided to go get some sleep before I overheard you guys speaking." Marcus explained. "I don't know what Robin was doing though in all honesty." Marcus added as he pointed to Robin.

Then the trio turned to Robin who simply smiled at them and grinned at the amount of pain Chrom was in right about now before she spoke. "Well I was a bit exhausted by today's events and then I decided to get out of my room to go for a walk when I realize that I really couldn't fall asleep right about now before I heard you guys as well and saw Marcus listening on you guys." Robin explained.

"Oh yes, speaking of which." Marcus suddenly spoke up grabbing everyone's attention. "Sumia, when you're trying to get someone to snap out of it, you slap them in the face, you don't punch them in the face." He explained to a now very red-faced Pegasus Knight who could only cover her own face with her hands.

"Oh no! Sumia moaned in out as Lissa, Marcus, and Robin started laughing right now. "I messed up the way I was supposed to snap Chrom out of his worry!" She said before she whimpered a bit at how badly she messed up.

"To be fair Sumia, what you did, did make him stop worrying for once since we got here." Marcus consoled as he looked over to Chrom who was still rubbing his cheek before he started snorting in amusement. "Then again, intense pain would do that for just about anyone."

"Oh, very funny Marcus." Chrom snapped back as he winced as he rubbed his cheek somewhat. "When it comes down to accidental pain for most people you worry, but when it's me you start laughing your ass off." Chrom muttered.

"To be fair Chrom." Marcus pointed out. "The accidental injuries are usually of more concern and the pain from Sumia's fist of love." He said making Sumia blushed bright red and Lissa to grin widely. "Is not going to hurt you that much." Marcus stated. "If anything, I would be more worried about the people that come out after you spar with them." He added in. "You have absolute no idea on the meaning of the word restraint."

"I do know the meaning of the word, restraint!" Chrom shouted back at Marcus, who looked at him completely unimpressed.

"Really?" Marcus questioned flatly. "Then perhaps you can explain the numerous broken training equipment that were made out of STEEL and the fact you apparently made a hole in the STONE wall when you were practicing sparring Chrom?" Marcus said as Chrom turned bright red. "I thought as much."

"So that's why the Shepherd's finances were leaning heavily towards training equipment!" Robin quipped as she clasped her hands together before she smiled sickeningly sweet at Chrom, causing Chrom to back away with sweat dripping from his face. "Do you realize how much gold we have to spend because you couldn't restrain yourself, even when sparring Chrom?" Robin said sweetly.

"Uh, not so much?" Chrom guessed weakly.

"NOT SO MUCH!" Robin roared furiously as Chrom backed away and both Lissa and Sumia hid behind Chrom as Robin was fuming red with volcanic rage. "In the last month alone! We had over a hundred destroyed practice dummies, over dozens upon dozens of sparring tools in pieces, the barrack is falling apart and most of that was because of you!" Robin shouted as she pointed her finger straight at Chrom's chest.

Marcus whistled in shock at that. "you mean to tell me that we had to spend over four thousand gold replacing all of the equipment and fixing up our place up is all because Chrom couldn't keep his strength in check?" Marcus said, mildly in shock.

Robin nodded furiously at that. "Indeed, not to mention we also needed to update most of the Shepherd's current weaponry at the time as well." She added in.

Marcus nodded before he stopped and turned to her. "Wait, was this why you took one of my gold bars and somehow ordered replacements and fixed up our place as well as the reason why we now have a surplus of steel weaponry in our barracks now?" Marcus questioned as Robin turned away.

"Well…yes." Robin muttered before Lissa noticed something about what Marcus said.

"Wait a minute." Lissa interjected. "I know that Marcus's gold bars were worth a lot but I didn't know they were able to completely turn our budget from red to black in an instant, just how much were those gold bars worth?" Lissa questioned.

"Well…" Robin trailed off.

"Yeah actually." Marcus added in. "Just how much were my gold bars worth? I know that Maribelle said I could live like a noble but I thought she was just exaggerating somewhat over the value they are." Marcus said.

Robin was silent for a moment before she whispered it out. "eleven thousand."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Chrom asked as he thought he heard eleven thousand. "Because I could have sworn you said eleven thousand."

"Because that is what I said." Robin mumbled out, leaving most of the group in stunned silence at what they heard.

Then Sumia spoke up. "Why was it so valuable?" Sumia questioned with a gasp on her face.

"Because according to Anna that bar of gold was around 35 pounds and was the most purely concentrated gold bar that she had ever seen and thus it made its value really high and as a result she offered me steel weaponry instead as that gold would have been hard to lug around and she was trying to get rid of most of her inventory already." Robin explained to a rather shocked group, except Marcus who didn't get what she meant by that.

Marcus then spoke up. "Is eleven thousand gold coins really that much?" Marcus questioned only for Chrom to ran up to him and grab him by the shoulders to give him a wide look.

"Is it that much?" Chrom whispered out. "Marcus, you have to realize that the gold bar that Robin sold could equate to the budget for a local village for eleven years!" He explained to a now understanding Marcus. "In fact, that could equate to our early budget for two years back when I was starting out with the Shepherds." He added in.

"And you have 36 of those gold bars left." Lissa muttered as she looked at Marcus contemplatively.

Marcus rubbed his head. "To be fair, I never seen a reason to sell those gold bars as I had more than enough currency to keep me going for a long while." Marcus explained.

"How much did you have?" Robin asked, now entirely curious about the amount of money that Marcus must have had if he never seen a reason to sell those gold bars apparently.

"I had more than five hundred thousand caps for the most part on my journey." Marcus said as everyone collapsed to the ground in shock as to how rich Marcus was.

"You…had over half a million of your world's currency?" Lissa gasped out as Marcus simply nodded. "How?" Was all that she could say.

"Early on after I met with Caesar's Legion, I took up a lot of bounty missions and apparently the bounties in question had some pretty valuable weapons that could be sold high." Marcus started off. "It was only when I started my actual fight against the Legion is when they sent assassins after me. Assassins that failed to kill me and left a considerable number of highly valued weapons from very eager buyers." Marcus explained.

Robin was stunned before she got a crazy idea in her head, if he does accept it then it would mean less trouble for Robin. "Do you think you can manage our finances then Marcus?" Robin blurted out as Marcus raised an eyebrow at her. "If you are willing to I mean." Robin quickly added in.

Marcus looked contemplative for a minute before he nodded. "I don't mind, just send me the budget and our finances for the last couple of months and I will try to do what I can." Marcus said. "But we should get some sleep now, it's really late." Marcus said as everyone looked to the moon and noticed just how fatigued they were before they all nodded in agreement.

So slowly but surely the majority of them went off to bed.

* * *

The very next day Chrom was in the throne room with Lissa, Robin, Marcus, and Frederick by his side. As the rest of the Shepherds waited outside of the throne room. Then Flavia entered in looking very serious as usual.

"Khan Flavia, I am very grateful that you are aiding us as quickly as you can. No words can describe how thankful I am to you at this very moment." Chrom said thankfully as Flavia laughed and slapped Chrom on his back, causing the prince to stumble a bit.

"No problem there Chrom, you helped me won the rulership of Regna Ferox, this is the least I could do for you." Flavia said with an easygoing grin on her face before it became somewhat more bloodthirsty. "Not to mention that every last one of my men are itching for a good fight and I am looking forward to paying back Plegia a few of their own corpses for all this shit they pulled on my territory."

"Still, we are very gracious you have chosen to aid us at our darkest moment." Frederick said as he bowed to Flavia, who simply waved it off.

It was then Robin noticed what Flavia said. "You are also coming with us?" She questioned as Flavia nodded. "Why though?"

"A Khan has to have her fun after all Tactician, I'm even bring my insignificant other as well." Flavia said as she soon rolled her eyes over what she said last.

"You mean Khan Basilio correct?" Chrom asked for clarification.

"Quite the oaf isn't good for much but at the very least he will make a very decent meat shield against a few arrows here and there." Flavia stated.

"That will be helpful either way." Marcus noted as Basilio is a very experienced fighter after all.

Just then Basilio bursted into the room looking quite alarmed before he saw the group and sprinted to them.

"Chrom! Good Gods I have been trying to find you everywhere!" Basilio shouted with urgency in his voice that made everyone there very worried now.

"Is something the matter?" Chrom asked, as he prayed hoping it wasn't Emmeryn involved.

"Our scouts have just reported back, and they bring dark news." Basilio said darkly.

"What news do they bring?" Chrom asked in worry.

Basilio sighed and with deep regret said. "I'm sorry…but…Ylisstol has…fallen." He said sadly as Chrom's eyes went wide at what he heard as Lissa gasped, Robin's eyes went wide, Frederick lowered his head and coursed, while Marcus closed his eyes.

"WHAT!" Chrom screamed in outrage and surprise.

"Initially when the Plegian Army marched towards the capital, they suffered delays as from what my scouts reported the defenders threw rocks down in the invading army as they tried to breach the gates but failed to do so for a while, before it became apparent to them that they stacked massive amounts of rocks to slow them down but they did get through eventually." Basilio sighed out.

Marcus soon spoke up. "And what of Emmeryn? Does she still live?" Marcus questioned.

"She does, lad." Basilio answered. "But unfortunately, she was captured and now Gangrel announced that he intends to execute her publicly with the moon." Basilio added in as most of the group gasped in shock.

"Executed!" Lissa gasped out as she fell into Robin's arms with tears flowing down from her eyes.

"I know how bad it seems right now but all of you must act rationally, I know for a fact that Gangrel knew that our scouts were there and he is clearly trying to provoke us into following him to rescue your sister." Basilio stated to Chrom who looked to be quite furious. "Let's think about all our possible options right now."

"We march to Plegia at once!" Chrom yelled shocking Marcus as he turned to Chrom with wide eyes.

"Are you shitting on us right now Chrom!?" Marcus yelled as he walked towards Chrom with absolute disbelief coursing through his body. "You heard what Basilio said, we need to think about all our possible options right now that doesn't involve all of us dying for certain!"

"This is my sister here Marcus!" Chrom yelled back. "We need to gather all the Shepherds and rescue her at once!"

"Chrom! Listen to yourself!" Marcus retorted. "You're thinking about rushing into the territory of Plegia where they have the advantage of the environment and superior numbers. At best in the Shepherds we have less than 20 Shepherds in total and you want to walk into a death trap!?"

"Since when did you act the coward Marcus!" Chrom demanded of him. "I supposed I know how you survived as long as you have by simply abandoning-" Only to get cut off as Marcus grabbed him by the front of his shirt as he looked at Chrom with pure rage.

"You can call me whatever you want and I won't even care." He whispered out before his eyes blazed with fury. "But do not ever insinuate that I would abandon my comrades and left them to die!" He spat out. "I care about Emmeryn too, but going off completely reckless will only make our attempt to rescue her pointless!" He yelled.

Then everyone was stunned at the way the two were acting but nothing could be said till Lissa spoke up. "Uh Marcus? Can you let go of Chrom now?" She asked timidly.

Marcus soon saw what he was doing and sighed and let down Chrom and let go of him as well. "I did not appreciate that comment Chrom." Marcus started off. "But you were worried about your sister so I will brush it off then." He added in.

Chrom rubbed his head and looked down in embarrassment. "No, that was uncalled for Marcus, forgive me for accusing you of abandoning your comrades." He got out as Marcus nodded before Chrom turned to Robin. "And I can expect you to do what you can to get us through this campaign correct?" Chrom questioned.

Robin nodded her head. "You can count on me Chrom! I will do everything within my power to see your sister to safety!" Robin said with determination burning in her eyes.

Chrom nodded his head in thanks before Flavia's arm came around him and jerked in surprise as a result. Flavia simply grinned at him with a wide smile on her face.

"Now you're thinking rationally there Chrom, you should really keep Marcus around if he can calm you down like that. Just remember that all of regna Ferox stands with you and that we need both guts and wits in high measure if we are to save your sister." Flavia praised before she looked over to Robin. "Are you certain you are up for the task, Robin? It is not going to be easy in the least and you also hold Emmeryn's life in your hands as well."

"I am certain that I can think of more than a few strategies to take them down!" Robin said with absolute certainty. "The Mad King will not see us coming."

Basilio smirked at that. "Then we shall do everything within our power to see to it that we get to the Plegian Capital and prevent the execution of your beloved Exalt." He said with confidence before he turned to the rest of the group. "Now buckle up! We got an Exalt to save!" He bellowed as everyone nodded in affirmation.

* * *

The Shepherds were soon on the march to Castle Plegia, where the execution was supposed to take place. But along the way the Shepherds stopped to rest for a bit to help acclimate themselves for the hot weather of Plegia and to prevent themselves from losing too much of their energy.

Many of the Shepherds took the time to rest or restock their supplies or keep their equipment up to acceptable standards. While some Shepherds took the time to train to keep their combat skills up and strong.

Which is what Robin was doing as she was bashing down a training dummy with fearsome strikes and slashes and was the scene that Marcus came across when he came up to her.

"You know you might want to take it easy Robin." Marcus commented as Robin quickly jerked from her training and looked at Marcus in surprise with wide eyes. "We still have ways to go before we reached the Plegian Capital and it would be very bad if our Tactician was exhausted before we get there."

"Ah." Robin said before she looked to the side. "I can't do that Marcus, I need to be at the top of my game and be able to pull out all the stops to save Emmeryn." She politely rejected. "And I know that my magic proficiency is strong and I need to up my combat proficiency in swordsmanship so I can fight effectively." She added in.

Marcus nodded. "And I understand that but that still doesn't change the fact we still have a long way to go to get to Castle Plegia. So, rest up while you can." Marcus added in.

Robin shook her head. "Sorry but this is too important for me to simply just ignore." She rejected.

Marcus went silent for a moment before he came up with an idea. "Okay then, how you spar with me instead of just throwing yourself at that dummy?" Marcus offered as Robin brightened up at that. "If you're going to train to fight in melee combat then you better use a real person, right?"

"Oh yes!" Robin quickly said as she and Marcus went off to another part of their campsite to practice fighting. "I do hope you take me seriously Marcus, because I have been improving since the first time I sparred with you." She said with a grin.

Marcus's response was to pull out his own sword and put on the Sierra Madre reinforced security armor and got into a combat stance. "I would not be surprised, now let us see just how far you've came since the last time." He said as Robin smiled at what he said. "But maybe you should take off your coat so it doesn't weigh you down." He added in.

Robin frowned at that as her coat had been with her since she woke up. But she supposed she could do without just for this one time and she took off her coat leaving her in a pair of pants, boots, and a plain shirt before she readjusted herself into a combat pose.

On the off tangent, Marcus took note that Robin's coat hid her body well and that she is surprisingly buxom. But he refocused and charged straight at Robin.

He went in for a quick slash but was deflected by Robin who quickly pulled out her sword and blocked it. The moment she blocked it, she slid to his side and struck at Marcus with her silver sword only for Marcus to punch her arm to prevent her from getting close to him and he jumped back and got back into his combat pose.

This time going for several stabs and strikes as Robin carefully blocked every one of his quick strike and moved back bit by bit and then just as Marcus send the next quick strike Robin dodged to her left, causing Marcus to overextend himself as Robin jabbed her blade in Marcus's direction.

Only for Marcus to bring his blade down and pushing Robin's sword to the ground and he flipped from the side over and kicked Robin in the face with his boots and used the momentum he got from kicking Robin to bring himself back into a combat pose once more as Robin staggered from the blow to her face.

This time Marcus held his ground as Robin slowly got up and breathed heavily before she charged straight at Marcus who stood there still, and simply let the blade clash against his and soon Marcus surprised Robin with an incoming punch to her guts that caused her to lose her breath and Marcus took advantage of her weakness by tripping her with his boot by sweeping underneath her and laid her flat on the ground with his sword pointed to her throat.

"Yield." He said.

"Okay." Robin started out before she smiled and knocked Marcus's blade out of the way and flipped him over with her over him now. "You yield." Robin said with a grin on her face.

Marcus just chuckled. "Very well then I yield to you." He faked groaned as Robin did a fist pump with both of her arms as she had finally claim a victory over Marcus. "You really are a gracious winner, aren't you?" Marcus deadpanned upon seeing Robin's action.

"Oh, hush you! This is my first win over you and I am going to milk it for all its worth." Robin retorted quickly with a smile on her face.

Marcus snorted as he removed his helmet from his head and placed it back within his Pipboy. "I will let you have that victory for now." He said before he grabbed both of Robin's thighs, making her yelp and flipping her over now with him over her. "But I am the one who's the victor in the end." He grinned at her.

Robin just laughed in response to that. "Touché." She admitted in good nature. "I suppose that's what I get when I tried to cheat in the end." She added in.

Marcus smirked and got off of her and offered her a hand and she accepted and was pulled up soon enough. "There is nothing wrong with that kind of strategy at all Robin." Marcus denied. "After all, I am all about anything goes on the battlefield and use whatever strategy you have to use to win."

Robin nodded at that. "I suppose that's true." She admitted. "But thank you for taking the time to spar with me, I feel much better now." She sighed out in relief as she stretched a bit.

"Not a problem Robin." Marcus replied. "You looked like you had a lot on your shoulder and the way you were attacking that dummy hinted that you might be a bit stressed out so I figured do what I can to help after all." Marcus answered.

Robin sighed as she lost a bit of her smile when she looked out in the distance. "In a way, you are right." She stated. "I mean this is my first big campaign and here I am on a rescue mission to save one of the most important people in the nation and I already made a promise that I will do everything I can to save her." She said as she frazzled her hair somewhat. "I mean I know I'm good, but I'm not a miracle maker though." She said sadly. "I just don't know if I am good enough to deal with all this, I feel like I am really out of my depths here, do you understand what I'm trying to say?" She asked.

Marcus was silent before he turned to Robin. "I can't really claim I do." He confessed. "But that don't mean I'm not here to help you." He added in. "So, don't forget that all of us are trying to save the Exalt as well, and that you can ask us for help whenever you need it, even I need help from time to time."

Robin blinked at Marcus for a moment before she silently smiled at what he said. "I think I will take you up on that offer then if you don't mind Marcus." Robin said as Marcus nodded in return.

The two of them just laid there on the ground and stared off into the skies waiting for the battles to come in their rescue mission.


	13. Chapter 12

After their break and preparation, the Shepherds soon resumed their march into Plegian Territory. And most of the Shepherds had a hard time acclimating to the environment due to Plegia's hot temperature and desert terrain. And unlike in Regna Ferox, most of the Shepherds were sweating and panting a lot in the hot weather.

Well except for one man.

"How can you not be sweating right now in this hot weather!?" Robin asked in exasperation as she wiped off another layer of sweat on her forehead as Marcus was walking casually in his Elite Riot Gear with no problem whatsoever. "It has to be higher than the hundred degrees here!" She complained.

Marcus chuckled a bit. "I seem to recall that I told you that my homeland was mainly desert terrain. And this is actually cooler than the Mojave Wasteland as well, so this actually makes a nice change of pace in all honesty." Marcus stated with complete and utter calm.

Robin huffed at that. "You desert people and you damn ability to adjust to the hot weather here while the rest of us normal folks suffer in heat and sand." She mumbled to herself.

Marcus chuckled some more. "Maybe when this war is over I can implement some training to adapt to all kinds of environment in the case we do need to fight outside our comfort zones and into foreign territory." Marcus offered.

"If you plan on doing that, then I shall gladly offer you my aid Sir Marcus." Frederick suddenly spoke up behind Robin, causing her to yelp and fall on her butt as Marcus grinned stupidly underneath his helmet and Frederick has a small sly smile on his face. "That kind of training would be useful in my opinion." He added in.

"Damn it Frederick, let me know that you're going to talk up behind me so I don't fall!" Robin shrilly said in embarrassment with red cheeks.

Frederick chuckled a bit. "Apologies Robin." He said not so sincerely causing Robin to frown a bit. "But I do some news that I wish to bring to you." He added in.

And at hearing that bit of news Robin instantly became serious. "What do you have to report?" Robin asked calmly with a super serious face.

Frederick look somewhat grin as he motioned to giant bones. "Over there are the dragon bones of the Fell Dragon Grima, it also acts as the shrine for the Grimleal Cult and what worries me is the lack of cultists and people around that area."

"Well that worrying." Marcus spoke up as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the dragon remains. 'Those are some massive bones, just how big was this Grima?' He thought in worry and little bit of honest fear. "You think they are setting up a trap for us for when we get close to them?" He asked.

"I do not know for sure." Frederick admitted. "I dare not get any closer when I realized that I didn't hear anything. I do not know what kind of traps or defenses that they may have left behind in the events someone tries to intrude onto their territory so I decided to be cautious and retreat back." Frederick explained.

"Better to be cautious than dead Frederick." Chrom commented as he came up behind Marcus, who was not shocked in the least at all. "Who knows just what do they have hidden there." He commented as Marcus and Frederick nodded.

Then all of a sudden, they heard a loud scream.

"AUGH! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU CREEP!" A young girl's voice cried out causing the gang to turn to see a little girl possibly around Lissa's age, with pointy ears and very little clothing running near them.

The sight of the girl caused the Shepherds to forsake caution and dash to where the girl was and now that they gotten closer. They also saw her being chased by a man in his forties with red hair and his appearance made him look like a common brigand or raider.

"Wait I say! Why you no do comprehending wee little one?" the man shouted after her.

"Just get away from me! Just leave me alone why don't you!?" The girl shrieked back at him.

"Please be keeping down with your voice! You be loud and give position away! Very bad idea!" The man tried to whisper to her.

By the time the Shepherds got to their location Chrom pulled out Falchion and pointed it to the man. You there, Fiend! Stay away and keep your hands off that maiden!" Chrom demanded.

"Who's the fiend?" The man questioned before he took note of all the Shepherds aiming their weapons at him and his eyes widened as he raised and waved his hands in denial. "You mean Gregor? No! You have wrong idea friend!" He shouted back.

"Yeah right!" Lissa scoffed at him. "As if you're not lying to save your own skin."

Then Gregor looked down in sadness and sighed. "This day has nothing been insults and punches to the groin." He said sadly. "And all this because Gregor doing good deed, listen friend! Gregor was only-" Just as the man called Gregor was about to explain himself a man with Grimleal clothing showed up alongside a few of his compatriots.

"You, insufferable little brat!" The man yelled out to the little girl. "Prepare for Grima's wraith!"

"Oh, this be most terrible! See now? They make with catching us all!" Gregor yelled out as he pulled out his sword.

"Why are all of you after this girl?" Chrom questioned as Marcus took the little girl behind him who hung onto his duster.

"All? Who is this all? Gregor is not part of this all! Look close! Maybe you did not see from so far but Gregor has innocent baby face!" Gregor explained.

"From the sounds of it." Marcus suddenly spoke up as he pulled out his own swords. "Gregor was just trying to protect the little girl from those cultists that are over there and the little girl may have panicked or overreacted." Marcus deduced.

Gregor nodded vigorously. "You see! Strange man in mask and armor knows Gregor's intentions, Gregor intended to help the little one escape." Gregor added in.

"But that leaves the question of what do these cultists want with the girl." Robin muttered.

"Good point." Chrom said before he looked to the cultists. "What is it you want with the girl!?" Chrom shouted to them.

"Out of the way fools! That girl is to be a sacrifice to Lord Grima!" The cultist shouted back.

At that the Shepherds tensed up ready to fight as Gregor also pointed his blade to the cultists.

"Well at least we know who to kill now." Marcus commented before he walked up to them. "How about this instead?!" Marcus shouted. "You leave them be and you and your buddies won't be in for the greatest spanking in the world." He said as some of the Shepherds tripped over nothing as some of them started to grin at what he said. "And I don't mean the good kind of spanking, I mean the bad kind…which could be good if you like that sort of thing." Marcus added in unaware of the Shepherds stifling their laughter and the cultist's increasing red face.

"You…dare…mock us?" The cultist snarled out.

"But it's going to be bad, in a good way for us." Marcus finished threatening. "So, walk back or face the bad kind of spanking." Marcus offered.

"Are you mocking us!?" The man shrieked at them. "For your insolence, you and your companions will die so hand over the girl and we shall grant you a quick death!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" The little girl yelled as she held out a stone and transformed into a dragon, before she flew towards the Plegians and engulfed them in her flame breath.

"…Huh." Marcus said completely apathetic to the little girl transforming into a dragon unlike his companions who had more colorful things to say.

"WHAT IN BLAZES!" Lissa yelled wide eyed.

"Shit!" Vaike cursed.

"She was a dragon!" Robin yelled in surprise.

"By the gods, she's a Manakete!" Chrom yelled "I'd never thought I see one in my lifetime."

After she engulfed most of the Plegians in fire, the little girl soon transformed back and fell to her knees completely exhausted. And unfortunately for her the leader was still alive but badly singed as he limped over to her.

"How dare you defy Grima, slave!" The remaining cultist snarled as he prepared to open fire on the girl with his dark magic tome. "Flux!" He shouted as the dark magic rushed to the girl, only for Marcus to grab the girl and wrapped her inside his arms as he dodged out of the way.

"Burn to ashes!" Robin soon shouted as she pointed her hand to the cultist burning the cultist alive and killing him for real this time.

After that happened the rest of the Shepherds rushed to Marcus and the little girl, who was simply crying into Marcus's shoulders as he gently patted her down.

"Are you okay?" Chrom asked in concern.

"This has been possibly the worst day ever!" The little girl cried out as Gregor also ran up to the girl in concern.

"Ho now, wee one. No need to make with crying of tears, for you see before you all bad people are now dead, this be very good." Gregor consoled in his own way.

"You, you're right. Thank you so much for trying to help me." The little girl said as she squirmed a bit under the attention she was getting before she slipped out of Marcus's warm hug. "And I'm so sorry that I was mean to you earlier, I just get nervous around people outside my…age group." She added in.

Gregor soon laughed when he heard that. "Your age group, Ha?!" He the amusingly added in. "Gregor most likely closest to your age than anyone else."

Marcus tilted his head in confusion at that wondering what Gregor meant by that, tilt his eyes lit up at a possible explanation. It was most likely that the girl before him, who looked only in her early teens, may actually be older than she appeared to be.

"Say um…Gregor, was it? Do you mind if you look after her? Me and my group need to move on." Chrom asked.

Gregor hummed to himself in thought. "Gregor is mercenary yes? Maybe you hire Gregor instead." He offered. "Gregor just finished killing former employers but still very reliable! So long you not ty to harm little girl, Gregor no harm you badly." He also added in. "Also…Gregor needs steady income…many angry former employers now." He added with a laugh.

"So, you are willing to let us hire you and go on a mission with us despite your recent troubles?" Chrom asked.

"Yes! Gregor very reliable warrior, cost performance very high, you will not regret it." Gregor said with a smile.

"Very well then you're hired." Chrom said after some thinking. "By the way would you prefer your payment in advance or after the job is done?" He asked.

"Gregor preferred money before but Gregor's professional code says after mission so Gregor waits for mission's end." Gregor explained.

Chrom nodded at that while the little girl that was being ignored pouted and finally spoke up. "Hey! What about me? I won't go back to the auctioning block!" She yelled at them.

"Well seeing as you can transform into a dragon and burn everything in sight I don't think you really need our help." Robin said with a smile as she rubbed the little girl's head causing her pout and groan a bit in embarrassment. "But we don't mind having more hands in our group, so you could come with us if you want to." Robin offered.

"Oh, thank you very much!" the little girl cried out as she bear-hugged Robin.

"Okay then, please get off of me." Robin asked as she pried the little girl off of her. "So, what's you name kid?" She asked.

"Name's Nowi and I'm not a kid! I'm over a thousand years older than you!" She replied.

Robin and Chrom went bug eyed as Marcus chuckled knowing his assumption was on track but even he was surprised by how old she is.

"Is that even possible?" Robin gasped out in complete surprise.

"They say those of dragon blood or descent are usually live longer lives and are far sturdier than men." Frederick explained. "So, it would not be surprising in the least."

"Well then." Marcus spoke up. "We should probably get going now, the Exalt isn't going to save herself after all." He stated as the rest of the Shepherds nodded and continued marching on with an additional two members in their group now.

* * *

After marching for the rest of the day the Shepherds soon set up camp and were soon joined by the two Khans of Regna Ferox and a small battalion so they could move faster while the rest of their army is marching behind them. The Khans soon sent out spies into the Plegian Capital to collect information and prepare for any possible challenges that might prevent them from getting to the Exalt.

At the war council where Robin, Chrom, Basilio, Flavia, and Marcus have gathered up they were discussing possible plans and actions to take when one of the Khan's spies walked in.

"My apologies but I have news to bring." The spy reported.

"Brief us." Basilio ordered as the spy did just that.

"The Exalt is to be executed at the castle at Morrow, heard it straight from the king's very own lips." The spy reported.

"Just as you predicted Robin." Chrom nodded to him.

"Now this will be where the test truly begins now." Marcus muttered to himself.

"Indeed." Basilio rumbled as he overheard Marcus. "This will be our greatest challenge yet, I do hope you have a plan to deal with the situation here." He added looking at Robin.

Robin nodded. "Do not worry, I have made the best possible plans to help us through this challenge." She said with confidence.

The meeting soon ended there and everyone left to prepare for the rescue mission tomorrow. Marcus in particular was thinking about the possibilities of having to bring out his big weapons again. He honestly hoped there won't be a need for it but if his last encounter with the Plegians taught him anything he might want to keep them out on standby.

"Marcus!" A familiar voiced called out making him turn to see that it was Robin rushing up to catch up with him.

Marcus smiled and spoke up. "Hey there Robin, is there something that you need or want to talk about?" He asked.

Robin nodded. "There is actually, I wanted to talk to you about…some of your other weapons." She said the last part quietly.

Marcus nodded seriously at that. "Of course, let us move further away to discuss this." He motioned near the edges as Robin nodded in agreement.

The duo soon moved to the edges of the camp and discussed some of the possible weapons that Marcus could bring out to aid them in their rescue of Emmeryn. Most weapons were thought of ways to clearing massive numbers of enemies or doing a lot of focused damage on enemies in particular but there was one weapon that Marcus felt was more than important that he needed to discuss with Robin.

"And there is one weapon among my arsenal that can be considered to be insanely dangerous." Marcus said as he took out Esther.

Robin examined the weapons in curiosity and wondered about its function. "And how does this weapon work and what does it do?" She asked.

Marcus looked entirely grim at that weapon. "Remember what I said about the weapons wiping out entire cities off the face of the world from my home world?" Marcus questioned as Robin nodded remember that bit of information. "Basically, what Esther does is launching mini versions of those bombs into the enemy." He said as Robin stopped whatever she was doing and slowly turned her face to face Marcus with wide eyes.

"Are you saying…this weapon is capable of launching the very weapon that destroyed your world?" Robin asked with apprehension permeating her voice as she looked at Esther wearily.

Marcus nodded. "Yes, and this is perhaps the most important weapon I have for its danger and it will only be used as a last resort if all other options failed or we find ourselves that deep in trouble but I hope we do not have to use it. I would rather not taint this world with the radiation of the nuclear weaponry." Marcus explained.

Robin nodded in agreement. "Hope it doesn't come to that as well, well anyways we should probably get some sleep now, we got a big mission coming tomorrow." She said as Marcus nodded and the two headed off for their tent to sleep.

* * *

The Shepherds had soon arrived at the Castle in secret hiding among the people and mercenaries there. Robin's strategy to disable the closest archers and fliers proved successful as Marcus and a select few warriors proved skilled at assassination. He soon had them all set up ready to kill them. Then they waited for Gangrel to finish speaking to initiate their plan.

"Good people! Warriors of Plegia! Welcome! Welcome, one and all! Your anticipation electrifies the air! We all remember the crimes of Ylisse and would you have their Witch Queen answer for them? Here? Today? Now? Yes! Finally, we will have Justice! Executioner if you will be so kind." Gangrel shouted to the roaring crowd.

Say what you want about the man but he was a rather charismatic man nonetheless.

Just as the executioner raised up his axe they started their plan.

"Now Flavia!" Robin ordered as Flavia threw her axe and aimed perfectly straight at the throat of the executioner.

"Hot damn! I got it!" Flavia cheered with a large grin on her face.

Gangrel was caught off guard for a moment before he regained his composure. "Well, well, well. It seems that the prince his little army have come to grace us with their presence." He said as he also mockingly clapped his hands.

"Hand over my sister and no one else has to die." Chrom demanded.

"Bah! Yes, people have to die! Especially your people!" Gangrel shouted back. "Until each and every last one of your people is dead on the ground then only then, will my hatred end!" He stated in no uncertain terms.

"If that's the case." Robin spoke up. "Then we shall retaliate! Everyone go!" She shouted and the very moment those words were said the Shepherds that were waiting in position popped out of everywhere catching the Plegians by surprise.

But the one that surprised Gangrel and Aversa was the appearance of the Wildcard himself, Marcus, who simply grabbed an archer by the neck and snapped it before he turned to glare at them maliciously.

Then he turned and started running as he whistled out and hearing the familiar roar of his companion, Raptor, who got below Marcus; who was running from the walls allowing him to jump on top of him and flew to where Marcus and Chrom were. As they were fighting their way through the ground force.

As soon as Marcus got close enough he motioned Raptor to spit fireballs at the ground force around the duo and allowing him to jump down and pull out both of his Saturnite swords and cutting down a knight in half from the top to down as he crouched down.

As soon as he got up he cracked his neck and turned to the unsurprised duo. "Hope you don't mind if I crash the party now." He quipped as he saw Raptor flying away from him to help Sumia and Cordelia in his own way.

"Of course not, if anything your help will be needed." Robin said with a smile.

"Indeed, your help will be appreciated." Chrom added in.

"If that's the case let me carve the path." Marcus grinned underneath his helmet as he cut down every Plegian warrior that got in his way. True they may have numbers but as Marcus once said long ago, numbers do not have any meaning against him. Especially since his swords can cut through anything.

Marcus didn't let anything slow him down, taking inspiration from both Lon'qu and Chrom's fighting style. He added a few jumps and tumbles to become a buzz-saw of death as he slaughtered through every warrior before he saw a long haired blonde warrior with an axe rushing to them before the warrior stopped before him.

"Good heavens! Prince Chrom, Tactician Robin, and Sir Marcus. Thank goodness I made it in time." The warrior stated as he bowed to them. Marcus also took note of his rather feminine appearance but saw his Adam's apple.

"Who are you and why are you here alone in this place?" Chrom soon asked as he and Robin caught up.

"I did not come here by myself." The man grimaced as he spoke. "I have traveled with many of my brothers and sisters in both arms and in spirit but unfortunately they did not make it." He said sadly. "But at the very least I can ensure their sacrifices were not in vain."

"I am sorry for your loss." Chrom consoled. "And I welcome your help, and I will be honored to be joined by a woman of faith." He said as Marcus slapped his forehead and the warrior winced at that.

"Chrom." Marcus spoke up. "The warrior before us is a man." He stated as Chrom and Robin looked surprised whereas Libra was pleasantly surprised by how easy Marcus found it to be for him.

"Are you serious?" Chrom questioned as the warrior nodded. "I am so sorry." He quickly apologized.

"No matter this is not the first time it happened nor will it be the last. I am Libra by the way." Libra introduced himself.

"Right then." Marcus stated cracked his shoulders a bit. "Let's give these fools a proper lesson in violence now, shall we?" He quipped gaining nods from the both of them.

Soon the trio became a quartet and slaughtered their way to victory before coming across a woman in dark mage robes not even bothering to attack them with her magic.

"You there! Are you with the Plegian forces? You don't seem eager to fight." Chrom asked.

"Death comes for all of us eventually why waste it on a cause that I do not even care or believe in?" The woman stated as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"If that is the case then why not join us?" Robin asked.

"You would trust me?" The woman questioned. "Even though this could be a ploy to slip a dagger in your back?" She asked.

"Doubt it, you seem like the type to not do pointless crap. And even if you do I'll kill you myself." Marcus stated to her.

The woman smiled at that. "How blunt and honest, a rather refreshing taste for once…very well then I shall join you." She said. "Remember me for I am Tharja the Dark Mage, consider me to be your ally for now." She introduced herself.

"Sweet." Marcus stated before turning to Libra. "Mind watching over her as her partner for now?" He asked.

"It shall be done." Libra stated.

"Good, now let's go." Marcus said as the group soon continued their mop up the ground forces that continued to get in their way. They continued to move on their way and were only slowed down by the number of guards in their way.

"You've lost Gangrel, surrender now!" Chrom shouted.

"No!" Gangrel shrieked. "I will not be defeated again! Kill the prince now!" He shouted.

"As if we will let that happen." A voice called out before javelins came out of nowhere and rained upon the remaining forces and the group looked up to see that it was Philia and the remaining Pegasus Knights. "Good to see you are still alive." She greeted.

"Let me guess, Basilio rescued you and sent you on your way?" Marcus questioned with a knowing grin as Basilio told him the night before that he would also search for the remaining Pegasus Knights.

Philia nodded "Indeed, now let us go." She said as the others nodded and regrouped with the other Shepherds as they rushed their way to Emmeryn.

Just as Marcus was rushing to Emmeryn he noticed his gut instincts calling out and he soon saw Aversa chanting and waving her hand and saw a dark cloud forming on top of the walls revealing…a familiar rotting hand.

"Risen!" He called out causing the group to stop and look at him in surprise before he took note that many of them were being equipped with bows. He snapped his neck to Philia and the Knights. "FALL BACK! RISEN ARCHERS ARE COMING!" He shouted as Philia's eyes went wide and she ordered her knights to fall back out of hopefully safe distance from the Archers.

The rest of the Shepherds gulped and tensed up in worry as Risen were coming out of nowhere.

"This…this wasn't supposed to happen!" Robin cried out as she paled as the Risen started appearing out of nowhere.

Gangrel soon grinned and laughed darkly at the Shepherds. "Oh my! Look! An army of corpses rising out of nowhere to aid me! Truly the Heavens smile upon King Gangrel this day!" He laughed out.

"Damn it! Emmeryn is still there!" Chrom cried out.

"Keep your cool Chrom, that's what Gangrel wants us to lose right now." Marcus stated as he tightened the grip on his blades. 'Will it really come down to me using that?' Marcus thought in his head.

"Now then." Gangrel soon spoke up. "We can stop all this bloodshed if you surrender and give up the Fire Emblem." He said with a cruel sneer.

"Damn it Chrom! You can't trust him!" Robin yelled.

"Of course, I can't trust him! But this is my sister Robin." Chrom whispered out the end. "How can I pick between my duty or my sister?"

Aversa soon came near Gangrel and smiled smugly at them. "You should just give up, there is no way for your army to win, we have the high ground and the weapons needed to kill of you and your knights if they get too close." She then smirked mockingly at them. "It's time to face reality, you will not win, this is our victory."

Chrom shook as he struggled with the thought of either his sister and duty and before he could do anything. Marcus snapped right up to face them as he stepped forward.

"Hey there, remember me?" Marcus spoke up causing the Shepherds to jerk towards him in surprise as Gangrel and Aversa bared their teeth at him. "Thought as much." He said casually.

"And you." Gangrel said venomously. "I demand his death as well Chrom, it is only fair after what he did to my poor Wyvern Brigade." He demanded. "It is only Just after all."

At that Chrom gritted his teeth as he struggled with a new choice now. Now it was not only his duty but also his friend's life in jeopardy now.

But before Chrom could continue to think…he felt the cold freezing rage flowing off of Marcus as he glared at the Gangrel with enough anger that Gangrel stopped smiling and Aversa started sweating.

"I, Marcus, am not a nice man." He started off as he sat down on a nearby contraption that appeared beneath him as Robin widened her eyes. "When it comes down to Raiders I brutally kill them. When it comes to psychos, I teach them a lesson so hard that they fear me. When it comes down to survival I do almost anything with no hesitation." Marcus said blankly.

"What is he doing?" Chrom questioned as Robin hushed him and had them back away from Marcus.

"But even I know…nauseating evil when I see it!" Marcus said as he tightened his fist. "Evil! Is when you use the weak and kind for your own gain and crush them underneath your feet!" He shouted. "Especially someone as kind as Emmeryn!" He shouted shocking Emmeryn as she gasped at him…and reddened at the cheeks a bit. "That is exactly what you've done! Since you're so confident in your victory, I shall rob you of victory!" He shouted pointing to Gangrel.

Gangrel just scoffed. "A fine speech but let me tell you something." He stated. "Evil refers to the loser, Justice as the victor. The last man standing, the method doesn't matter!" He shouted at him.

"What?" Marcus whispered. "The method doesn't matter?" He said as he lifted his contraption and aimed it perfectly at the Risen. "If that's the case, then so be it!" He shouted as he fired it at the Risen and Gangrel and Aversa furrowed their eyes in confusion.

"And what will that do?" Aversa scoffed. "Blow them away-" She was suddenly cut off as the projectile Marcus launched became many and they soon impacted against the Risen and they exploded violently and the explosion force knocked them both on their butts as they looked in horror and wide eyes as their Risen reinforcements were destroyed.

Marcus grinned as the Shepherds gasped at the destruction Marcus has caused before Esther dinged, signaling the impact of the Tiny Tots Nuke. He thought it was insane to use it earlier but against the Undead, he has no problem using it against them.

"Marcus!" Chrom breathed out.

"He really is the Wildcard." Robin said with a small smile.

"Then I guess you're really evil after all!" Marcus shouted out as he put away his Esther away and whistled again. Soon Raptor came in roaring as Marcus ran up on one of the barricades and jumped up as he landed on Raptor's back and flew to Emmeryn.

Just as Marcus flew by Gangrel and Aversa, he dropped a flashbang at them as it exploded and further impaired them, allowing him to reach Emmeryn with ease as she looked at him with wide eyes.

"Reach out Emm!" Marcus shouted as he pulled out his own hands and Emmeryn quickly raised her own arms and yelped when Marcus grabbed her and lifted her up and placed her behind him as he used one arm to hold the leash and the other to keep Emmeryn close to him, long enough for her to wrap her arms around his waist.

Flavia grinned widely as she saw Emmeryn safely wrapped around Marcus's waist and turned to the Shepherds. "All right you lot! The Exalt has been recovered so retreat now!" She bellowed as the Shepherds quickly jumped into action as they gained wide smiles upon seeing the Exalt safely secured. "Damn that mailman had a lot of tricks hidden up his sleeves." She muttered.

"Marcus…thank you so much." Chrom said gratefully as he shed tears of joy with no shame with Lissa sprouting the widest smile along with shedding her own grateful tears.

"Come on Chrom!" Robin shouted. "We have what we came here to do, mission successful, now let's escape!" She shouted to him as he quickly nodded and retreated as well.

Meanwhile with the Mad King and Creepy Tactician.

As soon as Gangrel and Aversa recovered from the flashbang Marcus threw at them they looked to where Emmeryn was and went wide eyed to see that she was no longer there and looked the other way to see that the Shepherds were retreating now.

Gangrel was seething and foaming at the mouth with rage. "HOW DARE THAT RIDICULOUS MAILMAN MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!" He screamed furiously. "ALL UNITS PURSUE AND KILL HIM! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE OTHERS ANYMORE, JUST BRING ME HIS HEAD!" He ordered.

The remaining forces that Gangrel had that had come to reinforce him had only seen the power that Marcus had at his hands and now they were looking Gangrel as if he was insane. First, he uses the corpses of their comrades to serve him, only for them to be mainly wiped out by one man, and now he wanted them to kill that man, who escaped!?

"Is he insane!?" One commander whisper-yelled to one his colleges. "He wants us to go after the one guy capable of doing all that!?" he motioned to blackened walls where nothing resides.

"I'd say he's crazy." Another commander muttered. "I never wanted this stinking war to begin with."

Soon more and more warriors started muttering their disdain with the current king's orders and many of them did not appreciate being sent to their possible deaths right now.

Gangrel glared at his army, how dare they defy his orders! "If you don't get that damnable mailman this moment then all of your lives will be forfeit!" He screamed as the army soon left with many of them furious at the king and the pointless bloodshed they found themselves in.

Unknown to Gangrel, his actions have led to many Plegians who were alive in the last crusade against them to compare him to the previous Exalt of Ylisse and many did not like.

The Mad King unknowingly planted the seeds for his own downfall.

* * *

The Shepherds, Khans, and the remaining Pegasus Knights soon gained enough distance for them to take a rest after they ran as fast as they could from the Plegian forces. Marcus soon set down Raptor and let Emmeryn of, who ran to embrace Chrom and Lissa happily.

"Emm!" Chrom cried out in joy as he hugged and spun his sister around before he set her down as Lissa hugged Emmeryn tightly. "Thank the gods that you were able to make it out of there alive." He said so gratefully.

"I'm so happy to see that you are safe big sis." Lissa sniffled as Emmeryn smiled gently and let Lissa hugged her tighter.

Meanwhile with the rest of the group Philia got off her mount and approached Marcus with a tired smile on her face. Which was somewhat hard as he was being crowded by the Shepherds who were congratulating him on a job well done.

"Hot damn! You saved the Exalt!" Sully whistled out.

"I am grateful that Exalt Emmeryn stands alive breathing because of you Sir Marcus." Frederick said with complete and utter respect in his voice for someone not Chrom, for once.

"I must say I was most surprised by the actions you took but now I am sure that the gods must have sent you herself." Libra commended as he started praying in thanks for the victory that they have obtained.

"I'm amazed how you quickly turned that situation around Marcus." Robin said warmly. "Thanks to you, the Shepherds now have obtained a great victory and we have not lost the remaining Pegasus Knights that Ylisse has." She added in before she beamingly smiled at Marcus.

Marcus simply just laughed and rubbed his head. "I just did what anyone else would have done in that situation." He casually stated as he pushed away the attention he received from his insane rescue. "Anyone else would have done the same." He added in.

"Even so." Philia spoke up. "Thanks to your warning me and my Pegasus Knights were able to avoid a dangerous ambush and for that you have my gratitude." She said as she bowed to him, surprising Marcus when she did so. And he was even more surprised when the Pegasus Knights that came with Philia did the same as well.

Marcus was simply embarrassed by attention and thanks he was getting so he simply scratched his head, even though his helmet was on, attracting snickers from the rest of the Shepherds.

"Not used to this kind of attention Marcus?" Robin asked with a wide grin on her face.

Marcus shook his head. "No, the guy that updated the Mojave of all the latest news and bits like that always kept my name out of the reports and I appreciated that." He stated.

"Well I suppose I can see why you would appreciate that." Emmeryn soon spoke up from behind causing everyone to turn and looked to the Exalt. "But I must thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart for saving me Marcus." Emmeryn said gratefully.

Marcus simply just smiled at the Exalt."It is no problem Emmeryn, no problem indeed."


	14. Chapter 13

The Shepherds, Philia's Knights, and the Khans escaped on the route that Basilio had set up in advance in the events that they would fail to rescue Emmeryn and needed to make a quick escape. Or in the events that Emmeryn was rescued and they were about to harmed by large numbers of Plegian warriors, they would fight the army off and protect the Exalt with their lives.

"Quickly now! The carriages that I had set up is waiting for us just through those ravines!" Basilio shouted through the rain as he paced himself and his breathing to make sure he didn't collapse to the ground.

"Just hold on a bit longer Emmeryn!" Chrom shouted to his sister who was now on Philia's mount. "We will get you to safety soon, just hold on a bit longer!" He shouted.

"Do not worry for me Chrom, worry for yourself right now!" Emmeryn remarked in worry for her brother seeing as he hadn't slowed down at all during their run away from the Plegians.

"Come now, just a bit longer and we're-" Basilio muttered to himself before he paused and saw what was in front of them. "Plegian forces waiting in ambush for us, damn it!" He cursed.

"Ylisseans!" The man at the front and looked to be more heavily armed than any other Plegian soldiers there. "I am General Mustafa of the Plegian Army, I offer you mercy here! Surrender your arms and live!" Mustafa shouted to them.

"Surrender?" Basilio said mockingly. "I'm sorry I'm afraid I am not very familiar with that word, thank you very much."

"Please! I do not want for any more lives to be lost. This war has taken enough already." Mustafa pleaded with them.

"Oh really?" A familiar voice spoke up from behind the Shepherds as Marcus got up front of them and at the very sight of Marcus. The Plegian forces started to become nervous and when he took a step forward, they all subconsciously took a step back, while Mustafa was only pale at the sight of him. "Because last I remember, the lives that were lost in the last battle were all Plegians." Marcus corrected. "I thought my little power would have been enough to ward you off." Marcus commented as Mustafa gulped at that.

Not one Plegian wanted the war to continue, especially with the power and might that Marcus have displayed. He had all but broken their will to fight and they just want to live now.

"So, you are the Courier that Gangrel wanted dead." Mustafa muttered to himself. "But nonetheless, are you willing to show such might in such a dangerous environment when the ground could be used against your allies?!" Mustafa dared him.

At that Marcus scowled, he knew that with the rain the ravines would become much looser and would risk the Shepherds, the Khans, Philia and her Knights, and Emmeryn. Mustafa had called him out on his bluff.

Then Chrom soon spoke up. "Even if you were to promise us safety, against Gangrel's madness. Your words have no weight to them!" He shouted to Mustafa as he drew his Falchion.

Mustafa was silent when he heard that bit. No doubt Gangrel would have them killed but only after he was satisfied with torturing Marcus for a bit after all the trouble he caused him.

"And even if that wasn't the case." Robin stepped in. "I know as well as you know that Gangrel is a very vindictive man! He would no doubt, demand the head of our friend Marcus in payment for what he not only done to the Wyvern Brigade, but also for costing him his great victory. And you think we will sign off on our friend's death?" Robin demanded.

"The day that the Shepherds willingly abandon one of their own to live is the day that I put up my armor and sword away and retire in shame!" Frederick shouted as well much to the assent of all the other Shepherds who shouted positively in response to Frederick's answer.

Mustafa was silent for a moment before he sighed. "Very well then, if that is how you wish it, then so be it." He stated. "Then by my right I, General Mustafa challenge you to single combat!" He shouted surprising some of his men and many of the Shepherds. "You need to only defeat me and my men will part the way for you to move on, fail in this you must surrender to my men." He challenged.

"Are you nuts?!" Chrom demanded. "How are we sure your words can be trusted? How do we know that you are not stalling for time?" He demanded as Marcus soon put his hand over him causing Chrom to turn to him in surprise. "Marcus?" He questioned.

"We'll accept it." he stated as Chrom widened his eyes. "I've worked with and seen his type before. He's an honest one and he won't go back on his word." Marcus replied. "Not to mention this is the best way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed." He added in.

Chrom saw the answer in Marcus's eyes and looked to where Mustafa is and saw the same honesty and conviction that Marcus had before he nodded. "Very well then, we accept your challenge!" Chrom shouted as Mustafa nodded.

"Very well then, I shall challenge you myself." Mustafa stated as he brought out his axe and marched ahead of them. "Who shall be your champion?" He questioned.

Before any of them could say anything, it was Robin who rushed ahead of them. "I will be the one representing my comrades." She stated seriously.

Chrom widened his eyes. "Robin, are you sure about this?" He questioned with concern for his tactician.

Robin looked back to them and smiled. "Don't worry you guys, I have no intention of losing here, there is too much at stake and I do need to pay back for my failure in not preparing for those Risen to appear out of nowhere if it wasn't for Marcus's aid." She explained.

"Robin, no one could have predicted those Risen appearing." Chrom consoled.

Robin shook her head. "Either way, I shall be the one to protect you all this time." She said with determination burning in her eyes.

Chrom was silent before he nodded to her. "Don't die here Robin." Chrom ordered as Robin approached them as she nodded her head to him.

As Mustafa was about to approach one of his newer recruits approached him in concern. "General, this is foolhardy!" he muttered to him seriously. "That woman over there from the Intelligence Reports states that she's the Tactician of the Shepherds, she will not fall so easily. Surely there is another way that can be taken without your death sir." He argued.

"I truly wish there was another way soldier but there is no other way that can be reasonably taken." Mustafa said with a sigh. "if it were up to me then I would take all of you far away from that dangerous man known as Marcus, the fact he was able to slaughter all the corpses our King seemingly uses with no issue or worry, worries me." He stated before he grimaced at Marcus.

"Surely, we can do something about him, right?" The soldier pleaded before Mustafa snorted.

"No, I've seen his type, they are the most direct and most dedicated type of warriors. I will not be surprised if he could overpower most of us and still finish us off." Mustafa stated as he remembered the feeling he got from Marcus.

"But General-" The soldier tried to continue as Mustafa cut him off.

"Enough, I will not run away from this battle. Especially since the king would sooner kill my wife and son as an example to make. I am trying to force them to give up after their great victory, and now that the Exalt is with them. They will fight tooth to nail to protect her. I will be the one to fight." Mustafa said solemnly.

"…Are you certain you can win?" His soldier asked in hesitation.

"I do not know for sure, I have never crossed blades with her type before on the battlefield." Mustafa admitted before turning to his soldier with a solemn look in his face. "If I do not make it out of here alive…please look after my wife and son, while I am sure they would resent me for this, I believe they will understand in time."

"General." The soldier muttered as Mustafa went off to face Robin.

"He'll be fine." One of the other soldiers spoke up, a Wyvern Rider actually, with confidence. "The general is one of the best fighters I have ever seen, he won't lose."

"But what if he does lose?" The soldier questioned sadly as the rider went silent. "I never wanted to fight in this war in the first place, too many lives were lost in the last war between our nation and a good number of ours died just to execute the Exalt who was just trying to make reparations between our nations."

* * *

"I am Mustafa and if you desire to keep your lives then fight for it!" He declared as he got into a battle pose.

"Don't worry, I plan to." Robin stated as she pulled out her silver sword and confronted Mustafa with it. Then she dashed to him planning on impaling him with her sword before Mustafa blocked it with his axe and pushed forward with his superior weight and physique allowing him more power as Robin jumped back to prevent herself from falling over.

Mustafa then roared as he brought down his axe and Robin's body jerked and rolled over to the left before she tried swing down her blade on Mustafa before Mustafa quickly brought up his axe to counter the swing before he used his free hand to punch Robin in the face, sending her reeling back from him.

Robin grunted before she spat out a bit of blood and brought out her thunder tome and begin firing at Mustafa, who simply sidestepped her bolts with incredible precision or using his axe to divert most of the power to his weapon before slamming it to the ground to make it fizzle out.

"Magic User eh? Unique fighting style you have there." Mustafa commented as he charged at Robin as she quickly switched up her weapons and used her sword to block most of the blow from Mustafa's swing as Robin feinted to her right and brought up her sword to his chin which he barely dodged by using his own hand to push it out of the way at the last moment before he used his axe to attack Robin as she barely put up her sword in time to block most of the blow.

Robin soon used the force from Mustafa's swing to roll to her left as she winced as she saw the blood from her upper arm bleeding and looked to Mustafa who had a bloody hand and a deep cut on his right cheek as he panted from that blow.

"You're pretty good." Mustafa admitted. "But I'm not done yet!" He roared as he charged at Robin with his remaining good hand as Robin charged at him with both her arms while wincing a bit at the stinging in her right arm.

The first clash of sword and axe caused them to reel back a bit as they brought up their weapons for another clash as both their sword and axe sparkled at the intensity they were fighting each other at.

Robin and Mustafa clashed as they kept their feet moving to hopefully grab an advantage over the other as Robin clenched her teeth as she swung her blade at Mustafa's side only to be caught up in Mustafa's unique axe as she then headbutted him full on the face, causing both of them to reel back as Robin charged at him ferociously.

During which Mustafa spat blood directly in Robin's face causing her to lose her sight for a moment as he brought down his axe on Robin's chest leaving but thankfully was only a gash as her shirt took the damage for the most part.

The pain from the gash caused Robin to open her eyes wide as she gritted her teeth and kept swinging down her sword with full force on Mustafa's body as he reeled back from the sudden increase in strength before he also noted that Robin's hands were bleeding somewhat.

Robin kept swinging down her blade with full force each time, regardless of how much it hurt her hands and her injured arm. She kept the aggressive stance up and kept chipping away at Mustafa's defense as she rolled to the right to dodge an aggressive blow from Mustafa and made a gash across his chest as well.

Robin then made a charging attack as her next attack connected with Mustafa's axe before she looped her blade under the axe blade and she used her uninjured left arm to punch Mustafa's forearm, causing him to loosen his grip on his axe as Robin ignored the pain in her right arm as she forced his axe out of his hand far behind her.

Then Robin roared as she made one final downward slash at he now unarmed general and sending out a spray of blood from Mustafa's chest.

"…Well done." Mustafa congratulated as he fell to his knees.

* * *

"General!" Several of his troops shouted as they rush forth to help him.

"Stay back!" He ordered in a pain tone. "She won…" Robin said nothing as she panted at him pointing her sword at his neck. "Take it; take my life and no more, just promise me that you will let my men leave unharmed…they are just followers of an old man." He stated as looked at Robin in the eye.

Robin looked at him solemnly and saw that he was willing to do everything to save his warriors. Then remembered an important talk she once had with Marcus long ago.

(Flashback Start)

"Marcus." Robin called out to him from across the table where they were enjoying their drinks at the local tavern.

"Yeah Robin?" Marcus questioned.

"Do you mind if I ask you about a certain part of your history again." She asked.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Go for it." He stated.

Robin nodded as she took a gulp of her drink before she asked. "Was there any other reason for you sparing Ulysses even though he costed you your past and tried to make your life a living nightmare?" She asked.

Marcus blinked at that. "Well that's a complicated subject to say." He stated.

"But why did you choose to not fight him but to ally with him?" She pressed on.

Marcus looked contemplative before he looked up and his eyes spoke just how weary he was. And it took Robin aback as to how exhausted he looked.

"I think the real question I was asking myself at the time was, is it really that necessary to fight him? And then after that I wondered to myself as to what would his death have accomplished? He was a man fighting in the memory of a lost nation, a place he could have called home. He had every right to hate me for what I've done. And I think the answer came down to him as well. Just what would either of us have accomplished by killing one another? Is it really worth it in the end? Will we change for the worst if we allowed ourselves to be guided by revenge? I just ask myself that and I decided it was not to my taste. But if you could do it…then that's who you are." Marcus stated as he took a long gulp from his bottle.

Robin was left in contemplation over what Marcus had said that night.

(Flashback End)

"I refuse." Robin sighed as she let down her sword, much to Mustafa's complete surprise, before she sheathed it.

"You spared my life? What possessed you to do so?" Mustafa asked as one of the medics, now that Robin refused to kill him rushed up to fix him up.

Robin looked back to the Shepherds, all of whom were nodding their approval at her before she looked back. "It doesn't accomplish anything and it is distasteful to kill someone as noble as you." She explained as she smiled at him.

Mustafa blinked at her and lowered his head in thanks. "Your kindness shames me greatly." He muttered. "Even though it may not be enough, I apologize for our invasion of your homeland and attempt to execute your Exalt." He stated.

Robin nodded before she fell to her knees as well and at that point Lissa, Maribelle, and Libra quickly rushed out to help heal her.

"Robin!" Lissa cried out as she quickly got her healing staff out and as soon as got within distance of Robin started healing her. "Don't worry we're here to help you out!"

Robin smiled weakly as the three healers started their work on her. "Yeah, but maybe we should get out while we still can." She added in.

Basilio, who had walked up alongside the rest of the Shepherds and Ylissean forces, nodded. "Indeed, we should, now come on you lot, your tactician went one on one with a general for our freedom, now let's go." He all but ordered.

"Indeed." Chrom said as he turned to Emmeryn. "Come now sister, we are almost there." He said with a brotherly smile as Emmeryn nodded back to him.

As the group walked past by the Plegian Army who simply parted before them many of them had their heads down. Like their general, they too were ashamed of their actions and had no desire to shed no more blood. Especially since Marcus was still with them and he terrified all of them.

At the other side where the convoy was for them to escape there was a pink haired woman who was walking a bit nervously as Basilio smiled brightly when he saw her. "Olivia!" He cheerfully called out as Olivia stopped what she was doing to see where that came from to see the Khans followed by the Shepherds and the Pegasus Knights.

"Khan Basilio!" She shouted in relief. "I am glad that you and your companions are all right, now hurry up now we have to get out of here." She quickly added in as everyone nodded and started to climb or travel on the convoy as they headed back to Regna Ferox to prepare for their eventual conflict with the Mad King.

* * *

Mustafa looked at the departing convoy with respect before he turned to face his army. "Well I suppose we should do something now that we have failed." He sighed out.

Most of his commanding staff nodded sadly. "Indeed, Gangrel will no doubt have our heads for this failure." One of them spoke up.

"But I don't think he will be able to do that just yet." Another one of his officers spoke up.

"And why is that?" Mustafa questioned.

"The one known as Marcus…" The officer started off somewhat hesitantly. "His display of might terrified and broke the fighting spirits of many of the Plegian soldiers that when they heard orders to go after him or lose their lives many of them started deserting which was only increased when a letter was recently passed around." He explained.

Mustafa raised an eyebrow at that. "What letter?" he questioned.

The officer looked down before he spoke again. "A letter of King Gangrel ordering some of his personal warriors to invade Ylisse to start a war and execute the border patrol to stir trouble. And the worst part is, is that it has the official seal of Plegia on it." He finished off.

At that many of the commanding officers started cursing of threw down their weapon in anger as Mustafa scowled at that.

"Damn the Mad King, he's no better than the last Exalt at all." Mustafa cursed under his breath before he turned to his staff. "And what do you suppose we do now?" He questioned.

All of them looked at each other for a moment before they looked to him. "I say to Hell with the King, leave us out of it." One of them stated as all of them nodded in agreement.

"You do realize that this is treason correct?" Mustafa stated as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Sir, with all due respect, Gangrel is not worth fighting or dying for." One of his officers said flatly as the others nodded their opinion.

Mustafa sighed before he looked to his men. "Very well then, it seems we will have to be on the run as well." He said as his men nodded their head in agreement.

"We'd follow you anywhere Mustafa." One of his officers stated as all of them nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Ah! It's good to be back home!" Flavia said with a large grin on her face as she plopped herself on her throne, before she looked over to where the Exalt is. "Emmeryn, I am glad that you were able to make it out of there alive, means the campaign wasn't in vain after all." She stated.

Exalt Emmeryn just smiled. "And I thank you and all of Regna Ferox for going out of their way to save me, even though you could have probably use your army for more important purposes, I am sure." She said as Flavia just laughed heartily at what Emmeryn said.

"Oh please! The day that Regna Ferox decides to abandon their allies is the day that I step down from the throne and let this country rot away before building it anew." She said with a friendly grin. "Regna Ferox never abandons their allies at all."

Emmeryn smiled and bowed. "Nevertheless, I thank you for your aid and I put myself under your nation's care for the duration of the war."

Flavia smiled at that. "Don't worry Exalt, I will see to it that you are perfectly safe here in my territory while we deal with a war with the Mad King." She stated before she grinned widely. "But now we got to celebrate your return! So, let's party!" She shouted to the cheers of the crowd as they all are looking forward to a party after a long battle.

Soon after she shouted that all of her servants started prepping food and drinks for everyone to enjoy and even Philia and her knights joined in as well. It was a nice change of pace after being held hostage by the Plegian forces in their hot and dry territory.

Sully and Vaike were laughing and trying to arm wrestle each other in submission. Chrom and Sumia were, surprisingly, hanging out and enjoying each other company. Miriel and Kellam were discussing intellectual pursuits. Lon'qu was not fleeing from Lissa for once and was actually holding a conversation with her. Libra and Cordelia were simply drinking and having a heart to heartfelt chat about their friends and comrades. Nowi and Donnel were having fun laughing or something like that. Tharja and Gaius were talking and whispering to themselves over something. Maribelle was criticizing Stahl over his manner and was trying to get him to eat less sloppy. Frederick was on the side keeping watch over the party as Robin was being forced to gulp down copious amounts of alcohol by the two Khans. Olivia and Virion seem to have a pleasant conversation about something.

Marcus on the other hand had gone outside with a mug of whisky and drinking it slowly as he went stargazing at the sky. There were so many constellations and stars that he didn't recognize that for the first time in a while he was reminded just how far away from home he was.

He simply sighed at the sight before he looked over to see all of Regna Ferox. It seems so unfair for only him to enjoy being in this new world, despite the fact that he is caught up in a new war right now. Everything made the benefit made that tiny tidbit a nonexistent stain in his enjoyment of the world.

"Joshua, I wonder what you would say about my thoughts and actions right now." Marcus muttered as he took a sip from his mug wondering what his old friend would have said to him about his current thought process.

In all likelihood, Joshua would have most likely berated him for not enjoying this newfound paradise as he would have also added in this is a reward from God for all the good deeds that he had done in his lifetime and it was time that he took his reward. "Perhaps the fact you could never enjoy such a paradise but could only hope others would reach this place with you is possibly the reason I respect you the most out of all my companions with the exception of Boone." Marcus stated to himself, Joshua would never accept this place as he had too many sins on his hands for him to truly accept it.

Marcus then quirked his mouth up at how some of his other companions would react to being here in this world. Veronica would no doubt balk at the lack of technology here but surely enjoy the brawling that is now in place that she would no doubt enjoy being among the warriors of Regna Ferox. Cass would most likely drink the warriors here out of their cash as well and get drunk and have fun while possibly starting a new merchant caravan in honor of her old one.

Raul would likely just fix whatever he could do in this new world while keeping his distance from the people so he could play his guitar without any distractions. Arcade would do what he can to help care for the people and become a teacher for those that wish to learn about medical practices with him. Lily would most likely just tend to some animals here and start a farm or something like that. Ed-E and Rex would most likely just follow him and do whatever he would do and without any issue as well just like they usually do.

Dean would just likely try to find some other place to rob of all its riches and drink and have fun while he's at it. God or Dog would just wonder the place searching for his own answers for his own existence and most likely end up as a protector for some local village. Christina would just probably try to document the history of this world and understand how the past affected the future, if not follow him on his journey.

Chalk would most likely be excited by the new sights he would see and tour around this world. Cloud would probably just try to find the local hospital and do as she always do as a midwife and care for young kids as usual. Rosie would follow wherever Rex would go considering she is his mate in a sense. Joshua would likely train up local militias to protect themselves from raiders and hunt down bandits all the same. While try to bring down Plegia to the ground if ever found out about them doing slavery.

Ulysses would just travel the world and learn what he could about each of the nation that he traveled to and learn from their history and make his own assumptions or guesses about how some of the events of the past lead to the events of the future. But he would no doubt be interested in how these heroes of the past lead to some of the events in the future and left their own mark on history.

"Marcus? What are you doing out here?" A voice called out causing Marcus to turn back to see that it was Emmeryn standing there with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, you know, just some thinking going on in my head is all." Marcus simply said. "I just wondered how some of my other companions are doing without me, no doubt they will be sad to here that I am missing." He stated as Emmeryn gained a sad look on her face.

"I forgot about that." She murmured, remembering the rather colorful cast of various people by Marcus's side. "I forgot that you really miss them, to not have them by your side. Even now, you must feel like a stranger in our world." She said as Marcus, much to her surprise, simply shook his head.

"Well you're not wrong about the fact that I miss my friends and companions." Marcus admitted. "They were basically my family in all but blood and they have helped me out of a lot of bad situations in the past, especially as I was starting off on my own." Before he smiled. "But I do not feel like a stranger in this world, not one bit at all Emmeryn."

Emmeryn tilted her head to the side. "Oh? And why is that Marcus?" She questioned kindly.

"Because of them." Marcus motioned to the now loud room that had various people having fun and were drinking but he was pointing to a certain group in particular. "Even when I had used that unforgivable weapon from my world. They had still treated me kindly as a member of the group no matter what. So, as you see, I am not alone." Marcus declared to a quiet Emmeryn.

Emmeryn was silent before she smiled. "I see, I am truly glad that you have been adjusting well to our world." She said kindly. "Now do you wish to come back in? it's rather chilly out here." She said as she shivered a bit from the cold weather.

Marcus just smiled in amusement. "Sure, why not?" He stated as he walked back in with Emmeryn. "I could use another refill on my mug right now either way." He stated as he came back to loud rumbling party where everyone was having fun or laughing their faces off.

Marcus just smiled softly at the chaotic mess before him. The Shepherds were his new family now, he is willing to just do about anything to protect them no matter what happened to him.

* * *

"Okay now, that's enough drinking from you, we should get you some sleep now." Marcus muttered to himself and clearly not to his companion that was giggling without restraint and intended on feeling him up.

"Oh, come on Marcus!" His carry on slurred. "We're just getting started to have a night now, there is so much fun to be had." His companion laughed silly before hiccuping and fall on Marcus's shoulder.

"And you clearly had more than enough to drink now Robin." Marcus casually replied back as he held the Tactician of the Shepherds in a piggyback ride on his back.

Robin then dumped her head on his shoulder and giggled relentlessly as Marcus could smell the alcohol from her breath. "Come on Marcus! We never seen you drunk before and I want to see just what kind of drunk you would make." She breathed close to his ear.

Marcus shivered not at the hot breath that came from Robin's mouth but the memories that came since the last time he drank himself into oblivion. House had amusingly recorded the whole incident after he drank his tenth bottle of vodka and the results were spectacularly disastrous and completely and utterly embarrassing for him and many of his companions as well.

"I rather not, thank you very much Robin." Marcus stated flatly.

Robin giggled delightfully. "Don't be a sourpuss Marcus!" She complained. "So, where you going to take little old me?" She asked jumping topics easily now.

"I am going to take you to your quarters for you to recover from this party." Marcus replied causally at that as Robin gained a sly grin at that and started rubbing herself all over Marcus's back causing him to twitch his eyes a bit.

"Oh my! You're going to take me in my room? In my current vulnerable state? I didn't know you were so naughty like that Marcus." Robin cooed as Marcus turned a bit red at that thought.

"Robin, I am not going to take advantage of you no matter how much you beg for sexy night with me nor did I have any plans on doing that." Marcus replied.

"You plan to have sexy night with me?" Robin said with a wide smile before she wrapped her arms around Marcus and started rubbing his cheeks with hers. "You really do know how to show a girl a good time now don't you?" She cooed at him.

'Just count in your head Marcus, ignore the sexy girl trying to get you out of your pants and ride you like a cowgirl.' Marcus thought to himself as Robin started flaying a bit to wrap herself from the front.

By the time Marcus had reached her room he looked back and saw that Robin was already snoozing already and actually drooling a bit on his shoulder. 'That's…so freaking wonderful.' Marcus snarked to himself as he grimaced as he swore he also smelled something else mixed with her drool on him.

Marcus then rolled his eyes and undid the doors and then walked into her room and dumped her on the bed where Robin was groaning and started hugging the pillow now. Meanwhile Marcus just sighed and plopped himself on one of the seats that robin had in her room and materialized a bottle of water and started gulping it down before sighing.

"This has been a long day for all of us." Marcus muttered to himself. Like seriously, how did he knew he was going to recruit some new guys and gals, rescue the Exalt, take on like a battalion of Plegian soldiers, use Esther against the walking dead, flee from the world's greatest asshole, and see Robin in a duel with a surprisingly cordial Plegian General and his army that were now scared of him?

Marcus then looked over to where Robin was and snorted quietly. Robin continued to impress him more and more every day since he first met her. He was actually surprised that Robin was able to pull through that duel and displayed some vicious fighting skill that she clearly took inspiration from not only Chrom but also him as well.

'Robin, you're probably going to shine even brighter than I ever could or anyone else could.' Marcus thought to himself as he smiled quietly at that.

Marcus then got up got up to Robin's bed and moved her hair out of the way and patted her on the forehead. "Sleep tight Robin, we're going to need you to exercise that big brain of yours tomorrow." Marcus whispered before he got up and started leaving only to feel something tugging him, causing him to turn that it was Robin holding onto his arm and awake somewhat and smiling serenely at him.

"Marcus come here for a second please." Robin quietly whispered out. Not being able to do anything and not seeing the harm in it Marcus just sat down close to Robin.

"What is it Robin?" Marcus questioned.

"Just bring your head a bit closer, please." Robin whispered that Marcus could barely hear it, causing him to lean in a bit.

"Sorry what was that-" Marcus suddenly stopped as Robin quickly grabbed his face, causing him to widen his eyes at that as she pulled him in for a full-on kiss on his lips.

Marcus was blinking in shock as Robin stuck her tongue in his mouth and swirled and played around with his lip before she pulled back revealing a saliva string that Robin broke and took into her mouth.

Marcus was still blinking at what just happened.

"Your reward for saving my plan and for taking me to my room." She said quietly before she closed her eyes and collapsed to the bed fully asleep now.

Marcus just blinked one last time before he shook his head a bit and started leaving. As he walked under the hallway under the night. Marcus just started laughing slowly somewhat before bursting out in full laughter. He won't deny that Robin amused him to no end by her actions.

"Have to admit, this has been overall a pleasant night." Marcus hummed to himself as he went off to bed. Today was a good day, but he did think about Robin's kiss.


	15. Chapter 14

After the party that occurred last night, everyone regrouped in Flavia's throne room to discuss their next plan of action. Lots of the Shepherds were in good cheer after that great victory that they have accomplished against the Mad King and rescuing the Exalt. Though most people did note that Robin was rather silent for the most part and that whenever she looked at Marcus she quickly averted her eyes and went red in the face somewhat.

Leaving a few curious Shepherds to wonder what happened after Marcus took her back to her room after the party. Before they soon turned their attention back to Flavia who recently received reports from her scouts and spies of rather interesting developments that was going on in Plegia right now.

"What? What do you mean that many of Gangrel's warriors are defecting?" Chrom asked in complete surprise as he blinked at this new bit of information.

Flavia sighed herself rubbing her head in confusion. "Well it seems that many of Gangrel's warriors are defecting after they soiled their trousers after Marcus's display of might." She stated as everyone turned to Marcus, who was lying on the wall, who simply gave a wave. "They really didn't want to fight him and when Gangrel ordered his warriors to go after you guys, many of them quit at the thought of being sent to a pointless death." She explained.

"I believe anyone else would have done the same as well." Frederick chimed in. "Facing a man that has the capability to wipe out that many warriors in one blow is no small task for sure." He explained.

Flavia nodded. "And that's not to mention that many of Risen that were seen by Gangrel's side were actually Plegian Warriors and not even the Plegians enjoy the sight of the dead being disturbed so casually as such." She added in.

"I believe most, if not all, people would have issues over the disturbance of the dead." Emmeryn murmured lightly as many of the people around simply nodded in agreement with her.

"Frankly I think just about everyone besides those Grimleal Cultists and the Mad King would be unnerved by the idea of working with the corpses on their colleges." Sully chimed in.

"There is that." Flavia admitted. "But one of the biggest contributing factors that caused many of the Plegians to abandon Gangrel was the fact that a certain letter was spreading around the nation." She stated as many of the Shepherds paid close attention now except Marcus who was lying on the wall still. "A letter that was shown to the populace that Gangrel was the one to issue the first blow and started the war in the first place and has his seal as well." She said as everyone slowly turned to Marcus who looked up and blinked.

"Is there a problem?" He questioned his audience.

"Marcus." Philia started off. "We know that you are the only one among us that would have kept the letter and we wish to know what is it that you have done with said letter." She explained calmly.

"Oh, that." Marcus nodded at that. "Well I may or may not have commandeered a printing shop when we got back to Ylisse to make many copies of a certain letter that may or may not have condemned Gangrel to be no more than a mere warmonger and a war criminal. While I might or might not have made copies of said letter in the thousands and I may have hypothetically made a bargain with Anna, who may have many customers in Plegia as she does in many nations. Who may have been paid with a gold bar to hypothetically deliver said letter in question." He stated before he smirked at the group. "To all people of importance in Plegia with many of the populace well aware of what their Mad King has done now and it may or may not have disturbing references how bad Gangrel is losing it or no longer cares about the people so that he may hypothetically, mind you, to lose massive support from his own nation so that way he will be isolated. And said isolation will make it easy for us Shepherds to deal with him." He finished to an astonished audience.

There was silence for a moment till both Flavia and Basilio started laughing out loud and shocking most people with their laughter.

"You, clever punk!" Basilio laughed out. "Even before we were off to save Emmeryn, you were already undermining the Mad King so he would lose respect and ensure that his army will leave in the masses so that way we would have an easier time fighting him, didn't you?" He stated.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders at that. "It was supposed to be a long-term measure to ensure that not many people will fight for Gangrel and that way it will be easier for us to deal with on the long run. By doing so, I had hoped that if this did turn into a long war, Gangrel would not have the numbers to continue what he wanted to do."

Tharja, one of their new arrivals chuckled darkly at that. "You struck when the iron was the hottest and the blow you struck when you annihilated those walking corpses would no doubt cause many of the army to fear you." She smirked darkly at Marcus. "You are more conniving than you appeared to be."

Then Robin interrupted Tharja. "Thank you for giving us an insight to the people of Plegia but the real question what will this mean for our war with Gangrel however?" She questioned as everyone nodded at that. "Will the numbers cause Gangrel to become even more vicious or will this only cause him to give up, is the real question I think we want answered."

"That might depend." Flavia noted. "It would be safe to assume that Gangrel still has his elite guards to follow him still and that Creepy Tactician with him and from what I could see she's a competent mage of sorts." She added in.

"So, in other words." Chrom suddenly spoke up. "We still have an entire castle to invade guarded by the most elite warriors that Gangrel has under his command." He said grimly.

"Not to mention." Robin interjected. "That the Mad King also has that Levin Sword as well. That will certainly make the Mad king to be a formidable foe."

"That won't be true." Basilio rumbled. "From some of the reports that my scouts have sent, they report that Gangrel has been forced to abandon Castle Plegia and is now heading for the Border Wastes, he's taking all his elite guards with him and they also reported having seen a hideout over there as well."

"So, now's the chance for us to strike at Gangrel then." Marcus muttered loud enough to be heard. "If we can get there fast enough we could prevent Gangrel from setting shop at that hideaway of his and grab the advantage of surprise." He explained.

"An excellent idea Marcus." Robin praised. "Now the real question is…" She started off before she trailed off as Flavia spoke.

"Who among us shall be the ones going?" She questioned as she looked to the Shepherds.

"Well we can't bring the entire army for sure, that will slow us down and that many numbers may cause Gangrel to retreat somewhere else." Basilio answered.

"But we can bring in a small elite unit that could move fast enough to do so." Robin suggested.

"You thinking about bringing in the Shepherds for this mission?" Flavia stated rather than questioned.

Robin nodded. "Yes, it is our fight that we got dealt with and we need to be the ones to finish it." She explained before she looked over to Philia. "How soon can your Pegasus Knights move Commander Philia?" Robin questioned.

Philia blinked for a minute before replying. "We can leave at just about any moment you would want us to Lady Robin." Philia answered quickly before she smirked at her. "You plan to use my Pegasus Knights to move the Shepherds quick enough to get to the Mad King, correct?" She questioned with an amused tone.

Robin nodded. "Sorry to say but we are most likely going to push your Knights and their mounts to their absolute limits." She said apologetically.

"It is no worry Lady Robin, if our knights have to be exhausted to grant you that moment to achieve victory then it is a small cost for us." Philia reassured Robin.

"Right then." Basilio rumbled. "Now that we got our plan and we got our means of transport there is one more thing that I wished to bring up." He stated as everyone turned to the West Khan.

"And that is?" Frederick asked.

"I wish to bring a ward of mine onto the battlefield, her talents will be useful no doubt." Basilio explained as he stepped to the side to reveal the same pink-haired girl that helped them escape Plegia during their retreat. "This girl here is Olivia, she's a battle dancer that is skilled in fighting and can reinvigorate the fighting spirit of warriors in the battlefield."

"H-hello." She greeted nervously.

'I think I can see how she reinvigorated warriors on the battlefield.' Marcus thought in his head as Olivia's outfit left nothing for the eyes to imagine, not to mention that she was a very pretty woman as well. But beyond her looks and her nervousness, there was more to her. Marcus could see the lithe muscles of her, the rough callouses on her hands, and the way that she was standing was also a combat pose as well. From what Marcus could deduce, she was an agile fighter.

"Well then I welcome anyone who's willing to fight alongside us." Robin said as she shook Olivia's arms

Olivia smiled lightly at that. "It is an honor to be fighting alongside you." She said quietly.

"Well if that's the case then. Let's get started, now shall we?" Marcus said with a grin plastered upon his face as the other Shepherds grinned just as hard as he was doing.

* * *

Arranging for all the Shepherds plus their new recruit and the Khans to get a ride with Philia's Knights was the easy part, the harder part were for the mounted units like Stahl, Sully, and Frederick; as they had their own mounts to bring with them. Eventually it would be that each rider would have two horses to ride on so that way each horse can take a breather from the weight that they would have to carry.

And there were the people who already had mounts and took someone with them as Chrom went with Sumia, Libra went with Cordelia, and Robin went with Marcus.

"You know Robin, some talk here might be comfortable in the silence." Marcus suddenly spoke up causing Robin to look up as Marcus turned away from the direction to look at her.

"Ah…but." She tried to say something, anything really but couldn't say anything at all.

Marcus sighed. "Still embarrassed about last night?" He asked causing Robin to choke a bit. "Thought as much." Marcus sighed out.

Robin was now beet red from embarrassment and rather shy actually. "So…do you hold it against me?" She asked timidly.

Marcus shook his head. "Nah, I don't hold it against you, you were drunk after all." He pointed out. "You should not be surprised at what people can do under the influence of alcohol." He remarked.

"Oh really?" Robin asked now somewhat curious at what he meant by that.

"Indeed." Marcus sighed out. "There was that one time one of my companions got so much alcohol in her system that she sang for twenty straight minutes while doing a beer shower for fun." He said with a slight grimace on his face. The amount of alcohol that Cass went through that night was staggering and he was actually more shocked at how she hadn't die of alcohol poisoning yet.

Robin snickered somewhat. "Sounds like that they had a wild party of the sorts to enjoy." She said with a grin on her face.

Marcus simply nodded. "Quite and it left me with quite the bill once the party was said and done." He said with a wince as he remembered the mess that Cass made in the Lucky 38, thankfully House really didn't care and he just asked him to repay him was all.

"That sounded like a lot of work." Robin noted.

Marcus sighed a bit at that. "Indeed, now we should focus because we're almost there now." Marcus stated as Robin quickly turned her attention to the hideout in front of them. "Seems this guy really has to overcompensate huh?" Marcus said as Robin grinned.

"Oh, you're telling me." She said gleefully before she wrinkled her nose at the castle. "Seriously, whoever did the appearances of all of Plegia's castles were rather tasteless and annoyingly dark." She stated as she saw Gangrel's hideout.

"Anyways we're landing soon so prepare yourself Robin." Marcus stated as Robin nodded before Raptor landed them slowly onto the ground before them.

Robin then jumped off Raptor followed by Marcus as Marcus checked up on Raptor who was breathing rather heavily. Soon followed by the rest of the Shepherds and Philia's Knights many of their mounts were exhausted from carrying two people on a rather long journey to the Border Wastes.

Gaius and Panne were soon sent out to scout ahead to check to see if Gangrel had made it to his hideout or not, before they soon returned with reports that Gangrel has yet to arrive at his hideout. This gave the Shepherds time to plan for an ambush on Gangrel and his elite bodyguards.

Many of the mounted knights that were skilled in javelin throwing were set aside by Philia so when the ambush begins they would throw javelins to confuse the bodyguards and hopefully thin out their numbers enough for the rest of the group to attack Gangrel and his remaining bodyguards with ease.

The Shepherds would soon come of out of their hiding place to attack Gangrel and his remaining loyal servants from another direction so that way they would be fighting two fronts during the battle and cause them to panic at the sudden increase in soldiers that were attacking them.

With the plan set up and the scouts returning to report that Gangrel will arrive at best within two hours and at worst one hour, everyone started doing what they can to prep for the final confrontation with the Mad King.

However, what grabbed some of the Shepherds' attention like Chrom, Philia, Marcus, and Robin's attention was the fact that Aversa was no longer among Gangrel's retinue.

"Do you have any possible idea as to why that woman, Aversa, is longer by Gangrel's side?" Chrom asked in concern as he looked to Robin for possible answers.

Robin tapped her chin for a moment before she looked to the group with a possible explanation. "Well one answer that I can think of off the top of my head is that Aversa simply ditched Gangrel when it no longer proved useful for her to be associated with him due to the bad reputation that Marcus spread out in Plegia." She explained.

"And another one?" Philia soon questioned.

"Another possible answer is that Aversa is simply taking care of some of the work back at Castle Plegia while Gangrel ditched her for his own safety." Robin added in to the scowling faces of her audience.

"What a wretched man." Philia scowled darkly. "Does that vile king have no sense of loyalty?" She demanded to know.

Marcus shrugged. "We shouldn't expect any kind of good virtue from either her or Gangrel considering they were trying to start a war between our nations in the first place." Marcus pointed out.

Philia sighed. "You do have a point Marcus." Philia admitted.

"And the last option and personally the one I hope for the most is that Aversa somehow died along the way here." Robin then added in to the group that now looked rather contemplative.

"I suppose I can see where you're coming from." Marcus stated. "Knowing that one dangerous foe is dead means being able to sleep a bit better but if she's still alive and loose there's no telling what that woman may do." He stated to Robin's knocking head.

"Correct, but we can focus on her lack of appearance later, now we need to prepare for the ambush." Robin said seriously.

Everyone nodded seriously at that before they split away to prepare for the final confrontation with the Mad King of Plegia, who was no longer popular anymore.

* * *

"How are we doing?" Chrom whispered asked Marcus.

"We are ready now we just need to wait for Gangrel to arrive and soon once Robin signals Philia and her Knights and they are down to a considerable number, we will soon take out the Mad King once and for all." Marcus reported.

Chrom nodded at that. "Excellent, and how's the morale of the Shepherds doing along with their battle status?" He asked as well.

"As high as it can be for battle since they got that massive confidence boost from rescuing your sister and as for the battle itself, they are just getting jitters is all." Marcus added in.

Chrom nodded and breathed deeply as he gripped his Falchion and looked out from his hiding place as he saw Gangrel and his guards approaching.

Robin breathed deeply as she gripped the piece of mirror that she had in her hands right now. Thankfully for her the sun was in their direction and Philia could see the light shining from their side. Once Gangrel got close enough she soon flashed the light three times in Philia's direction to let her know that the battle was to start right now.

Philia and her Knights yelled at Gangrel and his warriors, causing the king and his bodyguards to be caught off guard as they started screaming in pain or panic as Philia and her knights threw javelins at them.

"ATTACK! ATTACK THOSE DAMNED YLISSEAN PEGASUS KNIGHTS!" Gangrel yelled at the top of his lungs as he cowered beneath the formidable body mass of one of his Knights.

Robin and the rest of the Shepherds looked to the scene with anxiety waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But before that she took one last look at Marcus and smiled at him. "Say, mind telling how did the Second Battle of Hoover Dam went for Caesar's Legion?" She asked calmly.

Marcus smirked underneath his helmet. "Dead, to the last man." He replied as Robin grinned and roared out loud.

"Charge Shepherds! Today we take down the Mad King and take back our peace!" She roared as every one of the Shepherds came out charging and yelling at the now surprised remnants of Gangrel's bodyguards.

The fastest warriors to make it to the Plegians first were Stahl and Sully followed by Chrom and Marcus. Stahl and Sully had their horses trample all over the warriors that got in their way and dodged out the magic that was being fired at them.

Chrom simply smashed his way through the Plegian warriors in his way as he tried to find Gangrel among them and end his life.

Marcus on the other hand was dealing with all the warriors in his way as he cut through them or dodged the attacks coming from him as he got separated from the Shepherds when he was confronting the other warriors.

But he wasn't worried of course, he had considerable confidence in his own battle prowess and he believed his fellow Shepherds to be more than capable of handling the Plegians just as well as he had.

He cut down one Knight with his sword before jumping back to avoid a stab from the front from a Plegian Swordsman as Marcus simply pulled out his other swords and clashed them well against each other creating a line of sparkle from the might of his blows.

The swordsman then charged at Marcus intending to cut him up. But Marcus sidestepped him and in astonishing skill of hand maneuver coordination flipped his left sword and stabbed his foe straight in the guts before spinning around and slicing his head off with his right sword.

Marcus then casually flipped his other sword to hold it in reverse grip before he noticed a bunch of Plegian Warriors with axes charging at him. He smirked before he ran up to them using his sword's unnatural durability to tore his way through their weapons and bodies and flipping his swords right side up when he came across the last Plegian warrior who raised his axe right at him and Marcus blocked by crossing his swords at the last moment.

"Die! You pathetic Ylissean!" The man screamed in his face. "I will never let you get to Gangrel for as long as I live!" He shouted as Marcus then tightened the grip on his swords and shattered his axe with his blades causing the man to go bug eyed as Marcus sliced his head off with his left blade.

"Then it's a good thing you didn't live long then." Marcus quipped as he continued his way on to hopefully find Gangrel. Before coming across a mounted unit that tried to struck him down with his spear, only for Marcus to stabbed his swords into the group and grab the spear and flipped the man off his horse before Marcus spun it around, striking the man in the face at the same time knocking him down, before he pointed the tip at the man throat and stabbed him straight through the throat and causing the rider to choke on his own blood.

Soon he was confronted by another Knight who tried to struck him down and just when he was about to cut him down. He was soon shield bashed by the man from front causing him to skid back a bit as the Knight raised up his shield and clashed it with his spear. Marcus soon narrowed his eyes and got into a runner's sprint before sprinting to the man and then jumping before the man could strike his spear at him, surprising the Knight greatly. During his jump, he flipped over and use the momentum to stab the Knight straight through the skull, ending the Knight's life as he landed calmly. Marcus soon sighed and cracked his neck a bit before returning to the battle.

Marcus then dashed across the battlefield dodging various blows from his foes as he searched for Gangrel on the field. He also took the time to assist others who needed help from time to time. Such as when he brutally body slammed a knight that was about to stab Olivia and allowing her to finish the Knight off as Marcus continued on his way. Or when he snapped the neck of an Archer about to shoot down Nowi. Or even kicked the head of a Plegian Assassin about to stab Tharja from behind.

Marcus rubbed his shoulder a bit at some of the impacts he took from horses and swords that failed to cut through his armor. Didn't cut through but sting all the same. Eventually however he did find Gangrel duel both Chrom and Robin and he quickly accelerated his pace to get to Gangrel and when Gangrel shocked both of them with his sword from lightning from the sky and was about to stab them. Marcus moved even faster and blocked the slash with his own swords.

"YOU!" Gangrel snarled upon seeing who blocked his strike.

"Me." Marcus casually replied back before the two separated from each other and kept their distance as they circled around keep each other at a far enough distance away to prevent them from stabbing each other.

"DAMN YOU! EVER SINCE THE FIRST DAY I HAVE SEEN YOU NOT ONE THING HAS GONE RIGHT FOR ME!" Gangrel yelled furiously. "First with the Border negotiations, then the Execution of the Exalt, then the rebellion that I am now facing from both the populace and my army, and now this!" He screamed "Just what gave you the right to do all of this!" He demanded furiously.

Marcus scoffed at him as he smirked underneath his helmet. "Well there is only one major reason why you suffered as bad as you do right now, the one reason why I've done everything in my power to overwhelm you completely." Marcus answered.

"And that is?" Gangrel snarled back.

Marcus then pointed to him with his left sword. "The only reason why you lost to me as much as you had, is because of this single reason…you pissed me off to no end." Marcus mockingly stated as Gangrel seethed through his teeth and many of his veins were about ready to blow before he screamed incoherently and charged straight at him.

Marcus then charged straight at him with own swords and when he made contact with Gangrel's blade, a sudden flow of electric current flowed into his body causing his eye to twitch and kicked back Gangrel as he gripped his swords tighter to ignore the pain from the lightning.

Gangrel then soon had a twisted smile on his face. "Felt that didn't you? Well too bad you underestimated my Levin Sword, not only can I cause lightning blasts with this blade but I can also cause electricity to flow from my sword into the weapons and armor of others!" He boasted viciously. "It's a shocking sensation isn't it." He said with a mocking smile.

Marcus scoffed. "If that's what you need to win, then you're far more pathetic than I thought." Marcus casually mocked causing Gangrel to sneer. "I am very much used to pain, so let's continue now." Marcus stated as he charged first at Gangrel this time.

Even though Marcus has built up a tolerance to pain in general and the experimentation done on him by the Think Tank dulled his pain sensors, getting electrocuted every time he clashes with Gangrel's Levin Sword was throwing off his senses and his reaction bit by bit. But through sheer force of will he kept on going to push back the Mad King.

Marcus grunted a bit as he blocked off another strike of lightning flowing through his body as he struggled to keep back against Gangrel. As much as it annoyed Marcus to say this, Gangrel was no simple fighter. He was deceptive and clever and always used whatever he can to take the advantage against Marcus.

Marcus jabbed forth with his right sword which Gangrel easily dodged as he tapped the blade with his Levin Sword sending another shock of electricity down Marcus's body. Marcus then gritted his teeth as he punched Gangrel straight in the face, breaking his nose in the process.

Then they charged at each other once more clashing their blades against each other as Gangrel gritted with blood flowing all over his face and Marcus gritting in pain as an endless amount of electricity flowed through his body. Gangrel tried striking him in the shoulder, Marcus deflected that blow with his sword as he tried to bring down his other blade on Gangrel only for the Mad King to back away from quickly but still getting cut near his shoulder still.

Marcus for the first time since he got here in this world was now in legit pain and somewhat exhausted as he panted somewhat heavily as had multiple stab wounds all over his body and one of his helmet lenses overloaded from the amount of electricity that flowed into his body and shattered revealing his eye to the world.

Gangrel was in even worse shape than Marcus as he had multiple cuts and lacerations across his body and underneath his clothes were multiple bruises forming from the impact of Marcus's kicks, punches, and strikes. There were several torn pieces of clothes on his person and he had multiple bruises on his face plus black eyes when Marcus repeatedly headbutted him.

Gangrel hissed in pain as he lifted his Levin Sword and pointed to Marcus and caused a lightning bolt to come out of nowhere only for Marcus to dodge it at the last minute as he rolled to the left to dodge most of the impact that was coming from the lightning bolt.

But surprisingly Gangrel gripped his Levin Sword with two hands and that caused another bolt of lightning to come out of nowhere and this time Marcus was unable to dodge the bolt as it struck harshly against his kneecap causing him to lose control of his body system and fell to his knees as he twitched a bit in pain from the lightning bolt.

Gangrel cackled darkly as he approached Marcus ever so casually to him. "To think that the formidable Mailman has now finally been brought down to his knees by yours truly." He said darkly before he jabbed his blade forward and shocking Marcus even more as he resisted the urge to simply scream from the amount of lightning coursing through his body right now.

Marcus groaned in pain as now his helmet was mostly fried and it was going to take a while for him to fix that mess. "You damned cockroach." Marcus snarled as Gangrel punched full in the neck causing him to choke a bit before coughing at the amount of pain from Gangrel's punch.

"Give it up Mailman." Gangrel sneered as he stabbed Marcus in the stomach as electricity flowed within Marcus's body shocking him more and more. "There is nothing that my Levin Sword can't shock. That's the best part, so long as I have this sword no one can beat me!" Gangrel bragged delightfully.

Marcus at this point was scowling but when he heard that he smirked. "Can't be beaten so long as you have your Levin Sword huh?" Marcus stated before he grabbed the Levin Sword with his right hand as his left hand smashed Gangrel's grip on his blade causing the Mad King to scream in pain as he loosened his grip on his sword that very small moment that allowed Marcus to grab the Levin Sword even tighter and despite the electricity flowing out of him was able to pull it out of his stomach. "That's why it's great!" He shouted.

"You…!" Gangrel trailed off upon seeing his sword in Marcus's hand.

"I lost, that I will admit." Marcus started off. "But…" Marcus then added in. "I will gladly declare it to be my defeat because now I have your sword in my grasp." He stated as the Levin Sword sparkled with electricity before him.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Gangrel shrieked loudly as he ran back for his sword. "RETURN MY SWORD THIS INSTANT!" He demanded.

"WIND!" A certain Tactician's voice yelled out as Gangrel got sent flying back as Marcus turned back to see that Chrom was gripping his Falchion and Robin…was now using the Book of Naga and flowing with power!

"Took you a while to grasp it." Chrom quipped before looking towards Marcus with a grateful look.

"Took a lot of time and energy." Robin admitted. "But the results were worth it!" She said sickeningly sweetly at Gangrel before her expression softened to where Marcus was kneeling. "Thank you for buying us the time to get up and recover Marcus." She said softly.

Marcus scoffed at that before he slowly took off his helmet and grinned widely at them. "I'll gladly…turn myself…into…a…pin…cushion." He said before he finally collapsed to the ground.

"Marcus…you…really are an amazing man, even when you lose." Robin complemented with all the respect she could muster.

"Prince Chrom…Tactician…" Gangrel breathed out as the duo approached him with dark looks on their faces.

"Let's see now." Chrom got into a thinking pose. "I believe there was something that I swore to do once I got my hands on you, what was it exactly?" He hummed to himself as he tapped his chin before turning to Robin. "Do you remember what it was?" He asked.

Robin smirked at that. "I believe you said you will kill him, I definitely remember you saying that." She explained. "You said you would never forgive scum like him who uses his people as pawns to selfishly declare war on other nations and emotionally threaten you and physically threaten your sister now." She explained to a grinning Chrom as they now glared at Gangrel who was cowering away.

"W-wait just a minute!" He suddenly shouted out. "I-I was really just looking out for my people and I got a little bit overzealous in my actions, and I apologize for my actions, okay?" He said raising his arms in surrender and fear now.

Chrom then took another step. "You know Marcus mentioned something to me that I am now taking notice of after observing you." Chrom stated.

"…Huh?" Gangrel gasped.

"You have a habit of twitching your eyes when you get scared now. That's a habit I believe." Chrom noted upon seeing Gangrel's twitching eyes. "But…" He started off as he pointed his sword to Gangrel.

"You have a habit of twitching your entire body when you get really scared." Robin interjected as her Book of Naga was now glowing with immense power now.

Gangrel could only shake uncontrollably as he started screaming in pain upon being electrocuted rather horrifically by Robin. Only then to have a moment of respite when Chrom lifted his sword up and cut him down from head to bottom splitting him in half and killing the Mad King once and for all.

Once they were done with Gangrel, he was no more than a fried headless corpse and soon Chrom raised Gangrel's for all to see and that was when the Plegians finally gave up and surrendered.

* * *

"How is he doing?" Robin asked softly from Lissa, Maribelle, and even Emmeryn as they sat close to Marcus who was sleeping peacefully on the bed in the infirmary.

Once the Shepherds were done dealing with the Plegians who surrendered Lissa and Maribelle quickly rushed to Marcus and started doing the best they could to heal him to the best of their abilities. The damage done to his body was horrific but Lissa and Maribelle prevented it from becoming fatal and soon Philia and her knights took turns carrying Marcus with them before they got back to Ylisse where he was rushed to the infirmary to be treated even further.

The worry that was for Marcus was so strong that even Emmeryn came in to help with the treatment herself and aiding the two in healing Marcus.

"For now, Marcus should be stable." Lissa answered.

"But he will need to rest for a couple more days from the amount of fatigue and pain he's been through." Maribelle added in.

Emmeryn smiled softly as she played around with Marcus's hair somewhat. "To think someone so strong and fearless could sleep so well is truly interesting to see." She added in.

Robin nodded at the response she gained. "Good, it would do us no good if the Wildcard were unable to recover, now would it?" She quipped gaining a few light laughter from her audience before the room descended into comfortable silence.

"But I am amazed though." Emmeryn suddenly spoke. "He had been in our world for less than a year and he has already accomplished insane feats that only legends from tall tales and folklore would have been able to take on." She said with a kind smile. "Were it not for Marcus, I would not be sitting here talking with all of you now." She said gratefully to the Mailman sleeping peacefully.

Everyone nodded at that, they don't know what it would have been like without Marcus. But they certainly wouldn't want it any other way at all. Because to them, Marcus was a hero to them, but more importantly; their friend.


	16. Chapter 15

After the war was officially over and Gangrel was now well and actually dead. Plegia simply surrendered to Ylisse without that much of a hassle and Emmeryn was able to negotiate the person who could act as the temporary leader until Plegia could establish itself again. Mustafa had apparently gather quite a following of people under his command and as the one with the biggest influence left after the war, he was able to negotiate a fair list of demands with Emmeryn.

Unsurprisingly, Ylisse wanted resources for all the damage that Plegia has done upon their capital and much to Mustafa's own surprise, Gangrel had stocked up a lot of gold in his palace and was able to pay off all debts with Ylisse and ending their negotiation before Flavia stepped in to negotiate compensation for the attacks her nation had suffered as well.

Though before Emmeryn had left, Mustafa requested if it was possible for her to send his thanks to Robin for sparing him as he could now be happily reunited with his family safe and sound.

Emmeryn kindly accepted to do so and soon left with Philia to return back to Ylisse in preparation for the celebratory banquet that was to be held for being the Victors of Second Ylissean-Plegian War.

All of the Shepherds were invited to partake in the banquet and Emmeryn had requested for some of the Shepherds to be the Guests of Honor for their actions during the War. And that lead to some of the current issues right about now.

"I told you Lissa, I am not going to wear a dress this is utterly ridiculous!" Robin said in exasperation as Lissa huffed at her with both of her arms on her hips trying to look as serious as possible but only ended up looking cute anyways. "I mean some of the other Shepherds are going in simple outfits like Gaius and Panne so, why can't I?" She questioned.

"Because, you're one of the Guests of Honor that Emmeryn is going out of her way to personally commend for your bravery and actions during the War." Maribelle huffed as she walked on the duo. "Do you realize how important this is? Emmeryn is commending you for your tactics and bravery that allowed the Shepherds to have traveled throughout the various battlefields while Marcus is also treated as a Guest of Honor for his action in not only proving to be a formidable and steady warrior but for also saving her Grace from certainty of death and turning most of Plegia against Gangrel, allowing us an important victory." She explained thoroughly.

Robin could only have rubbed her forehead. "But why one of these dresses?" As she looked at the really frilly and very tight dresses that Lissa and Maribelle brought to her, with distaste. "I mean look at them! Some of them looked utterly ridiculous or they were meant to be worn by women that is going through a famine for crying out loud!"

Maribelle just simply huffed away her complaints. "Oh, don't be ridiculous, as if there could be any women who could wear any of that naturally, that's why they have to wear this to help them out." Maribelle soon pulled out a corset. "This will allow you to wear any of the dresses we have brought her with ease." She explained.

At that Robin paled immediately. "As if I am going to wear something like that just to be able to wear one of those gaudy looking dresses!" Robin shouted hotly. "I like being able to breath thank you very much."

Maribelle looked ready to just about explode from Robin's denial of help when Lissa intervened. "Maribelle, maybe we should find something else to dress Robin up in, I mean I personally don't like wearing corsets at all and forcing her to wear something like that would be bad for her considering she is not used to wearing anything at all like a corset." Lissa spoke up.

Maribelle looked to Lissa for a moment and at that she nodded her head in defeat. "I suppose I can understand where you're coming from." Maribelle muttered. "But now the question is what should Robin wear to the Banquet?" She pondered upon with repeated tapping on her chin.

Robin sighed at that. "Why can' it be a simple stunning red velvet dress?" She muttered to herself unknown that she was actually be overheard by Lissa and Maribelle.

Lissa turned to Maribelle with a scheming grin on her face. "Do you think?" She asked.

Maribelle nodded. "We could have a dress made actually in that color and I do remember the glorious dress that the one known as Vera wore during her time. I personally thought that the dress she wore was absolutely stunning." She complimented, she really did find Vera's outfit to be quite stunning. She was also absolutely livid when she learned that the one known as Dean Domino exploited her for his own gain. She still questioned why Marcus left Dean to live at times.

Lissa smiled sadly at that. "It was a shame that she was used and killed herself in despair of her actions." As Maribelle nodded sadly at that.

"So, what do you girls think I could wear to the banquet?" Robin asked as the duo looked to her.

"Well we got something in mind." Lissa started off.

"But we are going to need your measurements however." Maribelle added in.

Robin raised an eyebrow at that. "What kind of outfit are you going to make for me?" She questioned in curiosity.

"We decided to make a variation of Vera's outfit." Lissa explained before she took out measuring tape. "And since it is going to be customized for you we need you to strip to get proper measurements." She explained as Robin's eyes bulged out.

"What?" Robin choked out.

Maribelle smiled gently at her. "Robin dear, we only want the best for you and to do that we need you to take off that clock and let us measure you so hold still now okay?" Maribelle demanded.

Robin groaned at the pain she's going to have to suffer. "I bet Marcus is having as much of a hard time as I am right now." She muttered in annoyance.

* * *

"I can't believe you had an easy time finding an outfit." Chrom replied as he looked at Marcus rather surprised as he was now dressed in some fancy looking outfit that looked incredibly clean and well pressed.

Marcus smiled at his current attire as he took out a fedora and placed on his head and looked at himself in the mirror and approvingly nodded at his attire. "I never get a lot of chances to wear my Formal Wear and it is still by far the nicest set of clothes I own on my person and after the Second Battle for Hoover Dam. I ask House to clean up and repair this outfit to the best of his abilities as the outfit was a gift from a kind friend." Marcus explained.

"Well at least you are set for the banquet now." Frederick said looking at Marcus's Formal Wear in approval taking note for possible outfits for what Chrom could wear.

"Indeed, I just hope this is acceptable for the banquet." Marcus stated.

"You will be fine in that Marcus." Frederick assured. "It is a unique style not seen in most of the nations or in Ylisse so it will look more exotic than anything and it will fit in just fine at the banquet."

"Indeed. The only thing that I would recommend you take off however is your Pipboy as that gauntlet does stand out a lot in my opinion." Chrom added in as Marcus furrowed his eyebrows at that. "Not saying that you have to but just something to wear if you want to appear more consistent than anything." Chrom quickly explained.

Marcus took a thoughtful look at his Pipboy for a moment before he spoke up again. "Are we allowed to come in armed at all or is there no weapons allowed at this banquet?" Marcus asked.

Chrom blinked for a moment until Frederick spoke up. "Generally, there is no need for anyone to carry any such weaponry but for military personal and for militia groups such as the Shepherds, I do believe we are allowed to bring in one weapon if we so chose to do so." Frederick explained.

"But it's generally not needed since these occasions are where most of the guests lay down their weapons to enjoy the peace." Chrom added in.

After hearing, all of that Marcus went silent in contemplation over the next course of action to take and much to Chrom and Frederick's surprise. He actually took off the Pipboy and set aside and started dusting off the area in which the Pipboy was attached to.

He then grinned at the duo as he saw their surprised expression. "Guess I can afford to have the night off and not worry about anyone starting trouble, now should I?" Marcus questioned them with an easy-going tone in his voice.

Chrom then smiled at what Marcus said. "Indeed, this is the night where you are honored alongside Robin, Marcus." Chrom said as Frederick nodded.

"Now Milord, now that we have settled what is there to criticize about Marcus's attire we must get started on your attire as well." Frederick said as Chrom went bug eyed and lost his smile in that instant. "And no, I will now allow you to tear of the sleeves as you have done in the past as well. As your sister will not accept passable this time around." He added in.

"Can we not?" Chrom started out as Frederick smiled brightly at him. "I mean you know full well that I don't like those outfits anyways and that I am the prince and therefore I don't have to dress up professionally or formally for this occasion." He quickly said trying to defend himself as he took a step back from Frederick who got only closer and closer with every step that Chrom took.

"Absolutely not Milord, your sister commanded me to ensure that you wear a proper outfit this time around." Frederick stated with no hint of amusement and in the same normal tone that he's been speaking in for a while, which contradicted very much with the grin on his face.

Chrom started to looked panicked now as he turned to Marcus his last hope. "Please!" Chrom nearly begged.

And to that Marcus only simple waved his hand to him and then he left. Not wanting to be part of this anymore. And the screams and annoyance that Chrom made only further convinced him that he had made to right choice of not getting involve with whatever dispute that Chrom had with going formal.

Marcus then stopped to look outside to see various servants and cooks helping set up the banquet in the castle and for the first time since he got here. He actually wondered how did the Ylisseans actually party considering he'd only been with Chrom for one party and it wasn't a formal one and the other was with the Khans.

"Oh well." Marcus shrugged. "Might as well see what happens at the party tonight." He muttered to himself as he walked off wondering what else could he do to pass by the boredom.

(Later at the Banquet)

"You feeling nervous Marcus?" Chrom asked as he looked somewhat uncomfortable in his current attire as he adjusted the bow at the top of his outfit. "Because I certainly am right now." He muttered.

"I am, but for the life of me I just don't have it in me right now to let it show on my face or body expression." Marcus answered as he looked fabulous in his current attire as he had his white gloved hands placed inside his coat pocket. And then Marcus turned to Chrom. "Just remember to breathe in and out and you should be fine." Marcus advised.

Chrom nodded at that before he took a deep breathe in and then slowly exhaled it out. "Okay you were right about that." He admitted before he went off to see the banquet with distaste. "Well, here goes the night of our lives." He said sarcastically.

Marcus chuckled at that. "Come now Chrom, this should be a fun night, you're just overreacting." He consoled the prince.

Chrom could only sigh. "I hope you're right Marcus." He muttered before he noticed someone was not here. "By the way do you know where Robin is?" He asked.

Marcus and Frederick shook their head. "I do not know Milord but I do hope she appears soon for she is a Guest of Honor tonight." Fredrick said in worry.

"Well then, it's a good thing that I am here then." Robin said as the three men turned to where she was speaking and were blinking at the outfit that she was wearing right now. She wearing a red and black trimmed evening gown accounted with a tasteful flower on her hops and a few designs of a flower in red trip on the top of her dress. It actually looked like a colorfully inverted version of Vera's dress but instead the dress also covered her legs as well. Robin also wore a black ribbon in her hair to tie up all her excess hair giving her a quiet sense of dignity when she walked in.

The three men were rather silent for a moment as Robin smirked at the reaction she got from them and at that Marcus was the first to break free from his confusion as he smiled at her. "Got to say, did not know that you were going for an outfit inspired by Vera." Marcus commented.

Robin smiled dazzlingly at Marcus. "Yes, it had a beautiful design and Lissa and Maribelle thought it would fit me." Robin explained before she offered her arm to Marcus, causing him to blink in surprise a bit. "Now would you mind escorting me to the banquet tonight?" Robin asked as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "It wouldn't do for the Guests of Honor to be dateless this night."

Marcus was silent for a moment before he chuckled a bit at her. "When you put it like that, how could I possibly refuse?" Marcus said as he gave her his own charming smile as he offered his arm to her and they entwined with each other's arms and soon entered the Banquet together.

Not knowing or caring that their appearances made many of the guests took notice of them due to their unique outfits and the fact that the both of them looked rather attractive to many.

* * *

"Ah, Sir Marcus, Lady Robin. I am glad that you have finally arrived." Philia said with a smile as she looked approvingly to the two Shepherds. "And you are both dressed rather sharp as well." She said in approval.

Robin smiled at Philia. "You're not bad yourself." She complemented as Philia was clad in her Ylissean Military Dress Uniform.

Philia simply just laughed. "I do thank you for your kind words but I am simply here in my military uniform, there is nothing special about it unlike your formal wear." She refuted kindly. "But enough about me, this night is for all of Ylisse for seeing the end of the Second Conflict between our people and the Plegian People as well." She said before she bowed to them and left.

Marcus then turned to Robin with a raised eyebrow. "So, is there anything you want to do while we are here?" Marcus asked politely. "Because the victory celebrations I usually attend are more like drink till you puke kind of parties." He added in as Robin giggled a bit at that thought.

"Well if that's the case then let me lead you on how more…refined people party during such celebrations then." As she gently pulled him to the dancing floor to where the rest of the guests were having fun dancing and the like.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Thought you said you don't remember much of your past life, unless you're remembering something now?" He questioned as Robin pulled one of his hands to her waist and the other was kept still with her other hand as they begun moving around slowly on the dancing floor spinning for now.

Robin giggled a bit. "I don't but doesn't every girl imagine of dancing with a handsome knight in a ballroom dress?" She said innocently as Marcus she was slowly twirled around by Marcus, despite never having danced like this before. "And I must say, I am surprised you know how to dance like this." She said with a questioning expression.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Well I'm afraid you're going have to keep dreaming there for a little bit longer, Robin. Because I am certain I am no dashing knight in white armor." He remarked. Before he spinning her slowly across his extended arms as they soon brought her back close to him. "And as for how I know how to dance like this, one of the Think Tanks keep a book on ballroom dancing and I was curious to know more about dancing, just improvising here at this rate." He explained.

Robin just smiled at him. "You seem to have your hands in a lot of pies, don't you?" Robin said with a small smile on her face. "Always needing to know more even if it is irrelevant or for fun."

Marcus snorted. "Nah, the one with his hands in a lot of pies are either Gaius or Stahl, and you know full well why." He quipped making Robin laugh a bit at what he said.

"I can't deny that." Robin admitted. "Especially with the way that Gaius seem to obsess over anything sweet and tried robbing the kitchen of all its sugary treats more than once."

"Oh, don't remind me." Marcus groaned. "Gaius was on my heels for a whole day after he tasted some cake bits I had and wanted more and stalked me." He said in annoyance as Robin giggled at him. "Not to mention I am a firm believer in Knowledge is Power, having any kind of knowledge no matter how trivial it seems, is power." He added in.

Robin nodded at that as Marcus spun her around. "I suppose that's a lesson you learn from back home then I guess?" Robin stated not questioned.

Marcus nodded as he brought her down and up again as they move around gently around the dance floor with the other dancers. "It was a very important lesson to know, since some foes can't be taken out by conventional means while others require more unorthodox thinking as well." He said before shuddering a bit. "Deathclaws in the Divide could have regeneration prowess due to certain mutations." He said hoarsely.

Robin grimaced at that seeing just how fearsome Deathclaws looked from Marcus's photos and she shuddered at the thought of having to face one. "I agree, but what do you plan to do now Marcus?" Robin asked as she changed the topic to something else of interest.

Marcus hummed. "Well I guess I will keep being part of the Shepherds, can't see myself with any other group now." He said before smiling at Robin as the smile caused her heart to skip a beat. "Not to mention there's a certain lass that I have to spend some time with to understand how I feel about her." He added in.

Robin started blushing at the charming smile he showed. "Oh…is there anyone in particular…?" She asked as she trailed off a bit as Robin yelped as Marcus brought her close to him. "M-Marcus?" Robin asked shyly.

"Well." Marcus started chuckling. "There's a certain Tactician around here that gave me quite the mouth to mouth action when we were back in Regna Ferox." Marcus commented as Robin turned bright red. "Let's just say me being caught off guard by her actions was the least of my concerns since her actions also give some interesting implications as well." He added in.

Robin went silent for a moment and then when she found her voice again, it came out very meek and small. "And what do you feel for me?" She asked so meekly that Marcus had to pay close attention to what she said in order to hear her properly.

Marcus then took her in for a low swing as he dipped her in front of everyone getting some applause for his amazing flexibility and dancing skills. And all Robin could think right now were how warm and soft his chocolate brown eyes appeared in that very moment. She was left utterly breathless.

"I don't know for sure." Marcus confessed causing Robin's heart to wilt a bit, as then Marcus suddenly gave her a smile. "But I am willing to try if you're interested as well Robin." He added in causing Robin's heart to sore a bit as she smiled brightly at him.

"Of course, I would be interested Marcus." Robin replied as Marcus brought her back up as the music changed now allowing for a slower and gentler pace of tone and dancing style as Marcus and Robin danced side by side with each other just simply swaying to the music. "I really don't know what to say about all this." Robin confessed.

"You could start with how you're happy now to be dating me somewhat." Marcus joked as Robin laughed a bit before Marcus looked at her with a warm smile. "Seriously though, I don't really know what to do for relationships." Marcus admitted. "Been out in the wastelands killing raiders, monsters, slavers, and more that I don't know what's it like to be back among normal folks."

Robin smiled gently at Marcus as she kindly rubbed her hand on his chin as he she slowly turned Marcus's gaze in her direction. "Then I will help you out then Marcus." She promised. "I will show you that there is more to life than just killing the enemies before you and the enemies after them and more." She said sweetly. "I will show you the life you could have had, I will show you love, I will show you a family, all this I promise Marcus." She vowed to him.

Marcus blinked at her in shock, pure unadulterated shock at what she promised. Marcus was left in awe of what she promised and for the first time since he woken up in this strange new world, He started to shed tears. They were not tears of despair as he had so willingly shed back in the Mojave when he cursed himself for his weaknesses and his inability to save countless people from a horrible fate. These were not the tears of empathy he had shed for his friend Boone, when he had learned of what has happened to his wife, they were not the tears of anguish he had shed when he lost his companions from Happy Trails to White Legs ambush, and they were most certainly not the tears of a man who learned he inadvertently wiped out a whole community off the of the world.

No, these were the tears of the man who had been given something to rejoice over, these were the tears of a man who was promised a better tomorrow, these were the tears of the man that for the first time in his life; had hope for himself. A hope that maybe, he can be more than just a simple sweeper of all that his evil in his life. And the tactician he sees before her, grew from a simple warrior to a fine strategist and leader promised him this. No one has ever given him something to perhaps look forward to in a long time as she had.

"Thank you." Marcus whispered out as he and Robin smiled at each other and danced the rest of the party away.

* * *

In a hidden cave where men and women in dark robes were grumbling to themselves, they were at a loss of what to do now that their leader was gone and the influence they had built up with the previous king for all for naught now.

"This is a disaster." One of the robed figures snarled. "We have lost both Validar and the King and now nobody will listen to us as they associate us with Gangrel's regime and our words no longer hold any weight with the people of Plegia."

Another one of them spoke up. "That's not the only bit of news we have received either. Our worshipers that were many in numbers are now deserting us and returning to being simple people and not giving their resources for the good of the Grimleal Cult and for the God of Darkness: Grima."

"And another problem is that the Risen that were summoned by Aversa was supposed to be a sign of Grima's might." A female cultist spoke up this time. "And then she loses all of them to that damned Courier, who singlehandedly gave Plegia and by extension us, the worst defeat in Plegia's recent history."

"The devastation wrought upon us by that damned messenger caused no end of fear of Ylisse and it costed our chance to be rid of the Exalt as well as our ability to gain the Fire Emblem." Another member said venomously. "Who knows how long this setback will delay Grima's resurrection? It could take possibly years now to accomplish our goals."

"That is not the only trouble we have so far." One of the other cultists warned with a serious tone. "Our spies report that Walhart is quickly gaining influence in Valm and we should be expected to see him soon in about two years at best. He is currently consolidating all powers and the nations he conquered under his banner."

"Damn it!" One of the other cultists cursed. "That's not enough time for us to awaken Grima in that time! So long as the Five Gems are scattered, the Fire Emblem is useless without out them to power it!" He cursed.

"And to make matters worse, Validar insisted upon holding the only Gem we have in our hands and he simply loses it, the one night we had hoped to take the Exalt and the Fire Emblem after the disastrous affair at the border pass." One of the cultists said darkly.

"And there is no way that Ylisse will simply hand over Azure back to us, if they learned that it was to be used for the ritual. And there's no way to simply swipe the Gem from the Plegians either if they learned just how strong the connection was between us and Gangrel." Another cultist muttered.

Most of the cultists sighed in annoyance at what they have to deal with right now. Right now, their words hold no sway with the people, Mustafa will most certainly not listen to them or even consider their words, Walhart was coming soon to conquer them, they no longer had one of the five gems, the Fire Emblem is still within the grasps of Ylisse, and they had nothing to show for their planning or actions.

"Just where did our planning and actions go so wrong?" One of the cultists questioned.

"I think it went wrong the moment we tried to ally ourselves with Gangrel and kept pushing him for war with Ylisse." One of the cultists said darkly. "I told you we should not have supported him!" She hissed. "He was far too unstable and barely popular with both the people and the military of Plegia. He was a fool through and through. The only reason why we even bother coming to him was because he was all for war with Ylisse." She glared at the other cultists who simply had their heads down. "I warned all of you not to support him, he was unstable, and we needed to plan out the stealing of the Fire Emblem for years, but no." She said sarcastically. "You wanted a quick solution, surely with him in charge we can get whatever we need."

"I think we heard enough and we all realized the mistakes we made, okay." One of the other cultists spoke up only to be silenced by the furious glare directed his way.

"Really? And guess where we are now, back to square fucking one! With even less influence, less numbers, no gems this time, and general distrust from the entire populace!" She hissed and at that everyone went silent again.

Then another cultist spoke up. "Is it perhaps possible to get the other gems under our control?" He suggested as everyone shook their head.

"Absolutely impossible." One of the other cultists denied instantly. "One of the Gems is with Ylisse, making it impossible to be gained as no doubt it would be guarded just as heavily as the Fire Emblem. Regna Ferox holds no love for us and it would only be known to the Khan and guarded by the Khan. As for the other two, they're in Valm right now." He grimaced as everyone winced at that.

"And no doubt Walhart would have plundered the continent for all its riches and sell it off somewhere." One of the cultists muttered. "Not to mention that the other one is most likely guarded by the Voice of Naga herself." He flinched at did everyone there did.

"Glory or not, The Voice of Naga is not someone to be underestimated at all in the least, she was there when the Hero King Marth brought down Grima the first time and no doubt she would have over thousands of years in combat experience by then." The last cultist muttered.

At that everyone nodded their head in agreement, of all the gems to have been guarded by. To be protected by the Voice of Naga herself is no small matter. Not to mention there is no way that they could possibly sneak in to kidnap or kill possibly the biggest obstacle in their way. They would be mobbed to death by the people assuming Wallhart's men didn't kill them first for trying to break into their territory.

"So, to sum it all up." One cultist spoke up. "We have a dead leader, no more gems under our control, the king we helped sponsored is now dead, the Exalt still lives, the Fire Emblem is still under their control, and the people of Plegia now distrusts us for our support to Gangrel." He reported. "Am I missing anything else?" He said sarcastically.

"Indeed, you are." A familiar voice spoke up, causing the cultists to turn to see that it was Aversa standing by the doorway and an ominously hooded figure standing by her. "I believe you forgot about me and this new one among us." She said with dark smile.

"And why should we listen to you?" One of the cultists demanded. "The last time the majority of us followed the idea of your father. We ended up in this precarious position." He snarled at her.

Then the figure stepped up and when the figure spoke…it was just wrong…it held power and it felt incredibly old. " ** _Because she serves under me._** " The figure rasped out as though the person under the cloak was sick and tired. " ** _If you knew who I was then you would be bowing before me._** " the figure growled darkly.

"And who might you be?" Another cultist asked wearily sensing that the person in front of them was not who they just seem to be. And then the figure glowed with an aura of black energy as the figure then raised a finger and snapped as Risen started coming from the figure's dark aura causing the cultists to take a step back in surprise.

"That power!" One of the cultists shouted.

"It can't be!" Another one yelled in disbelief.

"But He hasn't awakened yet!" Another said in shock.

The figure then chuckled darkly at them as everyone looked at the power the figure showed with a sense of awe and fear. " ** _Yes…I am Grima!_** " The figure suddenly revealed himself. " ** _Or at least a fragment of Grima that came to this time to ensure my rise to power is not interrupted._** " The figure stated,

Then just as he said it, all the cultists bowed down before him now. "Forgive us Great Lord, we were ignorant and foolish to not know you." One of the cultists said solemnly.

Grima chuckled darkly. " ** _Because you are not a sniveling parasite I shall spare you for now._** " The Dark Monster stated. " ** _Now tell me what has happened as of late._** " The monster demanded.

"Well Lord Grima." Another cultist spoke up. "We were following Validar and Aversa for a bit until we ran into some trouble." He stated with a grimace.

" ** _What kind?_** "

"Trouble that appeared in the form of one of the Shepherd's newest warriors." A cultist answered. "The man has been nothing but trouble for us since day one of his appearance. In less than a month, he prevented the assassination of the Exalt, the gaining of both of the Fire Emblem, loss of our only gem, the assurance of safety of the Exalt when Gangrel tried to kill her, and killed our leader Validar within that timeframe." She reported with a wince.

Grima went silent for a moment to contemplate and digest the news he heard, and while it may not be known to anyone now. Grima was…troubled to say the least, this did not happen in the timeline that he knew. " ** _If I were at perhaps even a third of my power I could have brought back Validar._** " Grima stated. " ** _But the events that lead me here has left me considerably weakened even more than I thought._** " He added in.

"Lord Grima?" Aversa questioned curiously.

Grim shook his head. " ** _There is nothing important about that, now tell me about the newest Shepherd that has appeared to defy me._** " Grima commanded.

"Well it was a man that appeared out of nowhere." The cultist said as Grima's eyes twitched a bit. "A man bearing armor and weapons from an unknown nation." She added in and this time Grima's hands twitched a bit. "And this Shepherd referred to himself as a Courier." She added in as Grima begin releasing bits of his power. "A Courier by the name of Marcus." She finished only to be shocked as Grima started trembling and releasing a miasma of power.

Grima was shaking with pure rage at what he heard. To think that his revival was being slowed down by THAT man. The only man who had ever dare defied him to the bitter end and managed to force a Pyrrhic Victory out of him. The only reason why he had lost more than the vast majority of his powers when he came back in time. And when he flashed back to that day. The Courier was a broken mess of a man with dozens upon dozens of injuries that should have killed a normal man. And instead of paling at his might, he had the audacity to laugh at him. He laughed…at…him. And then he somehow destabilized the portal that he needed to use and in desperation used his own power to keep it up but at the cost of using a lot of power and as a result he is only but a shell of a shadow of who he was.

" ** _…Marcus._** " Grima snarled venomously. " ** _Marcus!_** " He repeated again with fury as the room trembled under his might and his fury before Grima roared to the ceiling. " ** _MAAAAARRRRRCCCCUUUUUUUUS!_** " Grima bellowed furiously with no endless amount of anger.

* * *

Beyond the sights of the guards, crouching on the roof. Marth was watching the victory banquet that was being celebrated through a pair of binoculars. And then Marth saw him, she saw Marcus and Robin dancing on the floor with the happiest expressions on their faces and all Marth could do was smile in delight.

"Enjoy your celebration tonight Courier Six." Marth said serenely. "For we will need your strength in the coming years." Before she smiled sadly at the sight of Marcus talking with Chrom and Sumia now. "I miss you so much Marcus, I wish you were here with me to guide me as you always had." She said sadly as she went into her breast pocket and pulled out an old and dirty photograph.

And on that Photograph, was an adorable young girl with blue long flowing hair and another girl with blue hair tied up in twin tails smiling and laughing happily as they hugged a scarred and one-armed man with an eyepatch over his right eye and his Pipboy in the other. Grinning wildly at the viewer.

"Take care now...Godfather." Marth whispered silently.


	17. Postwar Interlude 1

Why the Shepherds are no longer allowed to help in Construction Work

"So, there's going to be some renovations going around the castle for the time being?" Marcus asked as Chrom nodded in reply "Might I ask why it's happening now?" He asked.

"Well we do need to fix up the castle and I figured it's better to get it over and done with then having put off later then it should." Chrom replied as he rubbed his head a bit.

Marcus blinked at Chrom before he sighed. "May I also ask why most of our fellow Shepherds helping out in renovations instead of actually hiring skilled builders and workers?" he asked in exasperation as he pointed to the motley crew of Shepherds all holding bricks or sledgehammers. Or in Miriel and Ricken's case, spell tomes.

Chrom looked a bit red. "We…kind of lost the payment for the workers and also they could not come after getting caught up in a freak snow storm by Regna Ferox and had come down with a fever."

At that, Marcus furrowed his eyebrows. "How did you guys lose the payment for the workers in the first place? I placed it in the bag in Frederick's room in the barracks." Marcus questioned.

At that Chrom chuckled nervously. "Well here's an answer. Anna." He stated and like that Marcus gained an understanding look.

"She either stole the money or scammed Fredrick into buying the construction gear you're all sprouting now, aren't you?" He deadpanned at Frederick, who had the decency to blush and look away.

"I still regret my actions Marcus, I assure you of that." Frederick muttered.

"You better damn well be." Marcus said with a small tinge of annoyance in his voice. "That bag had over two thousand gold coins to pay the workers with, and you let Anna of all people con you." He said with a cross expression.

Fredrick kept his head down in embarrassment as most of the Shepherds chuckled a bit seeing the Great Knight look like a chastised child. An incredibly rare sight as seeing a Manakete back in the days till Nowi came along.

"Also, we were hoping you could help us out." Chrom added in, wishing to spare Frederick any more of his embarrassing display.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Sorry I can't do that right now." He replied quickly much to the disappointment of Chrom and the others.

"Why not?" Nowi whined as she struggled to carry a bag of bricks in her hands.

"Because for one, you guys wasted the budget that I gave you guys out of my own pockets." Marcus replied as many Shepherds flinched a bit. They were spoiled in terms of war gear and other weapons because of Marcus's rare golden bricks.

"I suppose you would be a bit furious about that." Virion muttered.

"And two, I have to take a bath now, so good luck you lot." Marcus replied before he walked off to the bathing rooms leaving the Shepherds standing around with nothing to do.

Then Robin spoke up. "So, what are we going to do now boss?" She asked in irritation considering she had planned on joining Marcus in the baths to further their bonds but instead got drafted to do this, making her rather irritated.

Chrom just sighed.

* * *

"Ahhh." Marcus sighed in relief as he stepped into the baths completely submerged in the hot water up to his head. "Now this is truly a great invention of man, hot baths." He said in joy.

Marcus really did love his baths, they were a nonexistent luxury back home until he went to Big Mountain and for the first time in a long while he felt incredibly clean and relaxed. He had considered about hiding the secret of the showers from the rest of Big Mountain but he relented on it soon enough.

As it turns out Rose and Veronica loved the showers and would spend even hours in there just refreshing themselves. Arcade was more interested in the medical technology and teaching that Big Mountain had to offer as were the rest of the Followers.

House for the first time as long as he could have remembered was shocked that the Science Facility known as Big Mountain still stand. He was even shocked by some of the surviving minds that have endured this long.

The Brotherhood of Steel wanted to shut down some of the experiments going and keep the entire place for themselves to make it their new home. But were firmly prevented from doing so under the watchful eyes of the Elder the NCR, who had sent their own representatives to help with the salvage of the treasures of Big Mountain.

While some of the more military minded folks wanted the weapons to boost their armies, the main factions have instead focused on the medical and agricultural technology to boost their food productions and ability to treat wounds. Soon enough Ranger Veterans that were medically discharged soon found themselves back on the battlefield with new prosthetics and organs to be able to help them fight and allowed them to cull down the Raider activities to nonexistence.

Although the Brotherhood were more shocked as to how Elijah came to Big Mountain and salvaged dangerous energy weapons for their usage. The Brotherhood soon sent an expedition to the Sierra Madre where they learned that was his next location only to return when the Sierra Madre was deemed too dangerous to retrieve Elijah.

Though they were able to salvage the Vending machines in intact conditions and soon the best minds in the Mojave studied the damn things till they were able to crack the codes and gain a near limitless amount of food and medical supplies for their armies. And it allowed them to solve the refugee food and water problems.

Now the NCR was able to deal with the food and water logistics of their problem with ease now and allowed the top Brass in the Mojave to keep a permanent force there now.

Then he was shaken out of his reminiscing when he heard what may be bad news coming outside of the walls.

"Sumia don't toss that sledgehammer around!" Cordelia cried out.

"I can't stop! Tharja's making me lose control of sensation!" Sumia yelled.

"Miriel, Ricken stop playing with those fire tomes! We have a lot of delicate materials here!" Fredrick sounded close to panicking.

"Nowi no throwing bricks! Be bad for Gregor for having to catch them before they smash someone!" Gregor complained.

"I'm hungry, when's lunchtime?" Stahl whined outside.

"Ha! The Vaike's going to keep on tearing the walls down!" Vaike sounded completely pleased with himself.

"Will you stop destroying everything without thought oaf!?" Maribelle demanded.

"Hey Blue, can I leave now? I got some candy to look over to make sure they come out fresh." Gaius asked.

"Tharja stop touching me?!" Robin shrieked.

"Oh my, aren't you a forceful one." Tharja creepily cooed to Robin.

"…What a wonderful sight." Virion said in awe.

"Naga help us all." Libra sounded completely exhausted.

"Why doesn't anyone notice me? I wish Marcus was here." Kellam whined sadly.

"…" Marcus was silent for a moment before he sighed and slapped his forehead in exasperation. 'By God they can't even get a task done without causing some kind of ruckus.' Marcus deadpanned in his mind.

"Maybe we should have listened to Marcus and actually let the professionals handle this." Chrom murmured.

"You think!" Lissa shrieked at Chrom sarcastically.

"…idiots all of you." Lon'qu flatly stated.

"Why am I the only one getting anything done?" Donnel questioned.

"Spawn of Man, you should put down those tomes otherwise you will cause an incident." Panne said in her nonchalant voice.

"…I should probably get my pants just in case." Marcus muttered as he got of the bath and wiped himself down before wrapping himself in his towel.

"Oh, don't worry about us, we got it-Whoa!" Ricken cried out as he tripped over something and a loud sound came out of nowhere with a lot of squawking and fearful screams coming out of nowhere and smashed opened the wall that Marcus was behind hiding him a dust cloud.

And shockingly not one bit of rubble hit him as the same could not be said for his Pipboy that was knocked away by the rubble into an open window as Marcus heard the bumping of his Pipboy hitting the ground.

'…Well it's a good think that my Pipboy is pretty indestructible.' Marcus thought as the Shepherds looked to the smashed wall now.

* * *

"Is everyone okay?" Chrom coughed out as everyone nodded their assent. "Okay that's some good news. The bad news is we need to find if there was anyone behind that wall." He called out.

"I am certainly not okay." A rather familiar and annoyed voice called out to them as they Shepherds turned to see a…Marcus covered in only a white towel around his waist?

Then Chrom remembered this was where Marcus was taking a bath and now he was nervous. "Hey Marcus, how are you doing?" He said nervously trying to give a winning smile.

"Perfectly good till you lot came and disturbed my bath." Marcus deadpanned as went over to the baths and washed the dust off of him and sighed dried himself a bit. "Honestly, you lot." He sighed in exasperation.

Chrom smiled nervously as he looked to the rest of the Shepherds and noticed the females were having a different reaction.

Miriel was somewhat red and pulled her hat down. Nowi was wide eyed and somehow her expression became that of a predatory animal. Panne had a blush on her face with twitching ears. Lissa was grinning with a wide smile and blush. Maribelle was red and covering her smirk with her parasol. Tharja was humming approvingly at Marcus. Cordelia was red in the face and open jawed at Marcus's current state. Sumia squeaked and covered her eyes but let enough gaps to see through them. Robin was very red in the face and was actually bleeding a bit from the nose. Sully was grinning fiercely. Olivia was bleeding very heavily from her nose.

Then Chrom looked back to see that Marcus still had drips of water on him that made him sparkle a bit in the sunlight and he had a perfectly sculpted muscular build to him with a six pack and muscles that looked like they could grind cheese on them. No wonder they were reacting that way.

Yeah this may have been rather stimulating for the females.

"Now if you don't mind me I have my Pipboy to pick up." Marcus stated as he left the Shepherds and went around the corridor.

"Ah wait Marcus." Chrom called out only to hear an intense squealing and see that the maids that were around were blushing heavily at Marcus as he walked by them. "Oh boy." Chrom said in worry.

* * *

For the next hour and a half. Marcus caused a commotion everywhere as females were either fainting in shock with a goofy grin or bleeding nose or they were taking pictures of him. Using the Snapshot tomes that Anna sold.

And Marcus could care less, even when he walked by the Pegasus Knights who had all their eyes budged out and fainted with a happy and creepy smile on their faces.

Not even the Exalt was immune.

"Ah hello Emmeryn." Marcus greeted as Emmeryn turned around. To greet Marcus.

"Ah hello Mar- OH!" Emmeryn went red in the face with wide eyes as Marcus was half naked and he walked by her and Emmeryn went weak on her knees and whimpered a bit as Marcus walked by and she could only stare at him as she tried to cover her face but was too memorized by his half naked, muscular handsome looks and whimpered.

* * *

Eventually Marcus did get his Pipboy and became the subject of increasingly disturbing looks by many of the females around the castle all holding a snapshot tome in their leggings or wherever hoping one day to catch Marcus without his shirt once more.

It was also during that time that Emmeryn forbade the Shepherds from ever doing construction work to prevent Marcus from walking out in the half nude ever again. (Much to her and every female's disappointment.)

Luckily for the females however, the ones who had pictures were able to sell them for hundreds of coins that were bought by female nobles, and widows; who were now hoping to get a closer look at Marcus now.

And that's why the Shepherds were banned from construction work for the rest of their lives.


	18. Postwar Interlude 2

Love is Beautiful, Wonderful, Eternal!

Marcus was humming to himself as he walked down the hallways to the Exalt's Office right now. For some reason after doing a bit of magical theory with Ricken and Miriel so he understood how magic worked, one of the Pegasus Knights has arrive to tell him that he was needed by the Exalt. And now here he was in front of the door and he knocked on it three times waiting for a response till Emmeryn's voice finally spoke up.

"Please come on in Sir Marcus." She asked politely as Marcus sighed a bit inside his mind. Ever since the victory banquet honoring him and Robin. Emmeryn has made it a habit to address him as such in public and only calling him by his actual name when they were just alone and having some fun time to talk.

As soon as Marcus opened the door he was not at all surprised to see that Emmeryn was sitting in her chair with Philia by her side. Chrom was standing in front of Emmeryn and he was also accompanied by both Lissa and Sumia with Robin, Frederick, and Lon'qu to the other side of the room. At that he was curious as to why the stoic swordsman was around with Robin and Frederick looking somewhat amused.

"Might I ask why I was brought here?" Marcus questioned as he crossed his arms as Emmeryn soon spoke up.

"Indeed, as you may or may not know my younger brother has recently confessed his feelings to Lady Sumia here." Emmeryn explained as both Chrom and Sumia blushed bright red in embarrassment.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at them. "Is that so?" He questioned as the duo nodded their head and Marcus soon grinned at them. "Congrats to you two then." He said kindly as Chrom and Sumia smiled kindly back at him.

"And that is not all Sir Marcus." Philia also spoke up as Marcus turned his attention to her. "Princess Lissa and Sir Lon'qu are also getting engaged as well." She explained as she pointed to Lissa who blushed with a small smile and Marcus looked at Lon'qu closer to see that he was…yep he was blushing as well.

"Philia." Lissa groaned in embarrassment as Philia sent her a somewhat nonapologetic sly smile.

Marcus smiled at Lissa, her antics always amused Marcus to no end. She was like Veronica without all the heavy baggage of being a Brotherhood of Steel Scribe member. And in all honesty, he kind of picked her up as a little sister. "Well then I offer my congratulations to you as well Lissa."

Lissa all but beamed at Marcus when she said that. Just like how Chrom is still very much gratified to see that Marcus had somehow saved Emmeryn all by himself. Lissa is still very much in awe of Marcus and saw him as another person to look up besides Emmeryn. Chrom may have been her brother but…Marcus was far calmer and cooler in her opinion. Not to mention he said a really great one liner when he rescued Emmeryn as well.

"So, mind telling me why I was brought here now?" Marcus suddenly spoke up bringing the topic back on topic. "As flattering it is to hear of both your engagements early and all that, you could have also kept it a surprise as well. But you brought me here to let me know, hinting that you guys have a favor you want to ask of me." he said calmly.

And then both Chrom and Lissa rubbed their head sheepishly and Marcus could not help but curl his lips up in amusement. As Sumia chuckled a bit with her hands covering her mouth for the most part and Lon'qu gave a tiny nod in his direction.

"He, you hit the target as always Marcus." Chrom said with a smile. "The truth is…" He started off before he looked somewhat nervous. "Me and Sumia were hoping that you would be the Best Man for my wedding." He confessed to a surprised Marcus who was taken aback by his request.

"M-me?" Marcus stuttered out for the first time in his life as he pointed to himself as Chrom nodded. "I mean, don't get me wrong Chrom, I'm honored and all. But why was it me? Don't you have other people that you considered to be better friends and all that to be your best Man?" Marcus asked thoroughly befuddled.

Chrom simply smiled back. "I want it to be you Marcus, because since the day we first met you at that burning town. You have been nothing more than a companion of the highest order." Chrom praised. "You've done more for me than most can claim to have done in their lifetime." He added in. "But most importantly you saved and protected my family." He said softly.

Everyone went silent after that and turned their gaze to Marcus, whose neutral expression made it difficult to tell what it is that he is thinking. But eventually his face broke out into a grin. "I swear, you still on that bit Chrom? I told you before, just did what I could at the time like any decent man would." Marcus spoke up.

"Marcus." Chrom started off as Marcus soon spoke his piece.

"Chrom buddy, I'd be honored to become your Best Man for the wedding." Marcus said with a gentle smile as Chroma and Sumia smiled widely. Then Chrom ran up to Marcus and embraced him in a hug causing Marcus to chuckle a bit as he hugged back.

"Thank you so much Marcus." Chrom said though his voice sounded muffled because he was hugging Marcus. Everyone else looked happy at that.

"No problem Chrom, so when's the wedding?" Marcus asked soon enough.

Sumia then spoke up. "We originally wanted to be soon after the war, but we thought that wouldn't be an appropriate time nor would it be necessary to have it that quick." Sumia started off.

Marcus nodded. "Of course, with the complete success of the war and the safe return of Emmeryn that would not be necessary and it was more important to focus on rebuilding, I remember that." He said.

"And now that we have finished rebuilding and sorting out the political mess now, me and Chrom thought it would be the best time to have our wedding soon in about two months give or take." Sumia answered as Marcus nodded.

"All right then, you guys do have a planner for the wedding now do you?" He asked for clarification as he they pointed behind him and Marcus turned to see that it was Robin that was waving at him.

"Hey Marcus!" Robin said cheerfully.

"So, you're the planner for the wedding then?" Marcus asked as Robin nodded.

"Yeah. There were a lot of people that wanted the job just so they could create closer ties to the royal family and hope to gain favor with them and since they didn't want a sycophant they asked me to plan their wedding for them." Robin explained.

Marcus nodded at that. "Makes sense, so what do you got planned for the wedding?" He asked.

Robin smiled wonderfully at him. "Oh, it will be amazing, mark your words Marcus, I will be sure to impress all of you." She all but declared to the people, all with their own smirks and smiles of excitement.

Emmeryn nodded to her. "I thank you once again for taking a good interest in my brother's wedding." She said before she turned to Chrom and Sumia. "Chrom I do hope you have the rings on you soon enough, I would like to see my new sister be known to my court." She said as Chrom let out a somewhat fake smile.

"Don't worry Emm, I gotten it all taken care of." He said as he secretly sent a look to Marcus pleading for help.

Marcus nodded. "Don't worry about your brother, I will be sure he gets the ring on Sumia when the day comes." He assured.

Emmeryn nodded. "Very well then, you are all dismissed." She said as everyone that was there soon left her office and Marcus walked a bit faster than he normally did now that he has a new mission before him that he needs to accomplish.

'But the first thing I need to do is to find a really good blacksmith or an accessory maker of some kind.' Marcus thought to himself as he pondered away in his mind as he soon left the castle.

* * *

"Excuse me good sir, but I was told that you could forge some of the best accessories around in the capital." Marcus spoke up to a muscular looking man with tanned skin, no hair, and a Hell of a beard to boot.

He nodded. "Indeed, I am." He rumbled. "I can make some of the best quality items here in Ylisse." He all but assured Marcus.

"Excellent, okay you see I need two rings forged for a pair of good friends that are going to get married soon and I would also like you to make it as such." Marcus said as he pulled out the blueprints for the rings that he was asking for as the accessory maker was studying them with a keen eyes and intense focus.

"…It can be done." He said after a while as he examined the blueprints. "But are you sure you wish to add the words to the rings? It would be the most difficult part to add and it would also be quite expensive." He warned.

Marcus nodded as he took out a bag of gold coins before the shocked eyes of the man before him. "Yeah, I want all the details forged for the rings." Marcus assured. "And money will not be a hint of trouble for me." He said as the man count up every last gold coin and deduced he was given more than enough coins for this job.

He nodded to Marcus. "Very well sir! I shall have these rings forged as soon as possible." He said as he took the blueprints, the money, and himself into another room.

Marcus hummed to himself at that. "So that's one problem taken care of." He muttered to himself. "Now the wedding gift for both of them." He hummed to himself as he walked outside the store and sat down on a bench in contemplation.

Then he saw Anna's stall and decided to check it out and looked through their catalogues on armor and saw that they also do custom work for armor and soon Marcus gained a gleam in his eyes.

"Hey Anna." Marcus called out.

"Oh, hello Marcus!" Anna said cheerfully. "Is there something I can do for you?" She asked politely.

"As a matter of fact, there is." Marcus said with a smirk on his face.

* * *

(Two Months Later)

Marcus sighed as he watched Chrom panic around like a headless chicken. "Chrom, you need to calm down now. You're going to get a panic attack before you get to the alter at this rate." He sighed out.

"What if something happens? What if I trip! What if I mess up my vows! What if Sumia doesn't want to MARRY ME MARCUS!" Chrom all but shouted at Marcus who winced at the increase in volume.

"Chrom buddy." Marcus planted his arms on his shoulders to get him off of him. "I don't think Sumia's going to reconsider marrying you that easily first off. She loves you too much for that." He consoled.

Chrom sighed and visibly relaxed now.

"Okay, now that we're relaxed, let us go now, we can't afford to keep the bride waiting now." Marcus spoke up as Chrom started panicking a bit. "Also take deep breaths man." He added in.

Marcus and Chrom soon exited the room and first entered the throne room with Lissa as Marcus was waiting there with Robin and then they entered.

"You look fantastic by the way." Marcus whispered to Robin who giggled back.

"Thank you, you look handsome yourself." Robin smiled back.

The crowd before them soon turned their attention to Chrom and Marcus as they walked to the alter. Chrom was sweating nervously as he got closer and closer as Marcus kept his serene peaceful look on his face. The guests in the crowd mainly consisted of nobles but the fronts rows were held by the Shepherds and Philia and Emmeryn who looked serene as always.

Sumia's bridesmaids consisted of Cordelia, Sully, Maribelle, Lissa, Miriel, Olivia, and her mother. While the Groomsmen were consisted of Frederick, Lon'qu, Vaike and Stahl. Robin took her spot with the bridesmaids as Marcus took his spot among the men. While Libra was in front of them as he was the priest asked to marry the royal couple.

The doors opened again, this time revealing Sumia in all her beauty and kindness that Chrom's jaws nearly dropped to the floor and for the moment. He truly felt like the luckiest man in the world. As the guests stood up to give their respect to the bride and groom.

"Pleased be seated." Libra called out as everyone took their seats and soon Marcus all but focused on the couple before him as Libra gave out his speech to the crowd and he could see just how nervous the two were.

"Who now gives away the Bride in marriage?" Libra called out as a man stepped forth.

"Her mother and I give her away to be wed with her prince." Sumia's father spoke up.

"Prince Chrom and Lady Sumia have written their vows." Libra soon declared as Chrom stepped up and took Sumia's hands into her own.

"Sumia, during the time we spent together I've been trying to find the perfect words to say to you. I can say that I love you. I love you for your kindness, I love you for your gracefulness, I love you for when you stayed by me during the worst times of my life, and I love you more than ever for staying by me through those times." Chrom said with a heartfelt smile. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, thank you for being the greatest partner I could ever had. I love you with all my heart and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

Everyone were touched by Chrom's vows and Marcus felt himself blinking a bit of tears back in his face and then it was Sumia's turn to speak her vows.

Chrom, ever since I've known you, I knew you would become a great man and leader. The greatest adventure I had was the one where I fell in love with you and starting a life with you. You brought out the best in me since we met, you gave me confidence where so many others would have given up on me. You encouraged me to be the very best I ever was, you gave me so many opportunities to prove myself. You brought me no end of happiness and joy and I can't wait to start a future with you as not only your wife but also your confidant." Sumia confessed as she gained some tears in her eyes.

"May the Ring Bearer step forth please?" Libra called out as Marcus stepped forth and dug into his coat pockets to pick up a small box before he silently opened it to reveal two beautiful gold wedding bands in it. and when Libra took them from the box he could see engravings in it.

 _For You, My Love, My Honor, And My Life._

And Libra looked to the other ring and saw.

 _My Life Be Yours, With You, For All Eternity._

And evidently Chrom and Sumia saw it as well as they delivered a grateful look towards Marcus who simply nodded and stepped back.

"Chrom, do you take Sumia to be your wife? To forsake all others till death do you part?"

"I do." Chrom said without hesitation.

"Sumia, do you take Chrom to be husband? To forsake all others till death do you part?"

"I do." Sumia replied just as quickly.

"Then by the power invested through me by the Church of Naga, I pronounce you Husband and Wife." Libra said proudly. "You may now kiss the bride."

Chrom lifted Sumia's veil and the two shared their first kiss as Husband and Wife as everyone stood up to applaud for them.

* * *

After the ceremony, the guests began to dance away in honor for the newly wedded Couple. Marcus watched with a grin on his face as he drank down some wine from a goblet as he saw that the couple joined him soon enough.

"Hey there, you two lovebirds." Marcus teased as both Chrom and Sumia simply beamed at him. "How's being married feels like?" He asked.

"It feels wonderful!" Sumia gushed before smiling at Marcus. "And we also have to thank you for the added customizations you added to our rings as well." She noted.

"It was nothing much really." Marcus deflected gently.

"Still." Chrom spoke up, "It was rather kind of you to do it either way. So, thank you Marcus." Chrom said gratefully.

Marcus simply smirked at them. "No problem. Now if you excuse me I got a date with a certain tactician now." Marcus said as he took Robin's arms to the dance floors.

"Enjoy yourself." Sumia called out as she took Chrom's hands to the dance floor and danced the night away with Chrom.

After a lot of dancing though, the Shepherds retired to a VIP room for them only. Marcus was soon standing with everyone with a speech to give as the Best Man of the wedding.

And then as soon as Marcus became the center of attention everyone gave him a round of applause.

Marcus cleared his throat before he spoke. "Thank you all, and before we start may we thank Sumia and her wonderful bridesmaids." He said as Sumia and said bridesmaids beamed at him. "And may we thank Chrom and his awesome Groomsmen who stood by me." He said as Chrom and said Groomsmen look particularly smug. "And I wish to thank Robin for being my date once again through this wonderful event." He said as Robin preened at the attention.

"And thank you for letting me have a fun time Marcus." Robin called out as everyone cheered for them and Marcus laughed a bit before he spoke again.

"I have to say, it was quite the surprise when I became Chrom's Best Man for his wedding." Marcus started off. "It was in all honesty quite touching, from my world back home, one of my companions told me that being a Best Man for someone means being their brother in all but blood." He said as he sent a grateful look towards Chrom. "I…was honestly quite touched, here I was a simply Courier and vagabond traveling from town to town till I ended up here where you Chrom, offered me the hand of friendship." Marcus said as he paused as everyone noticed his truly happy voice. "While it may have been fun to travel from town to town, not once did I have a place to truly call home. And there you were, you given me something that I never had in my recent life. You gave me a home to go to, you gave me a family to trust in, companions to fight alongside with, and more." He said nearly on the verge of tears again as everyone was taken into Marcus's story.

"You gave me all of that and more and when you were scared of my capabilities you heard me out and still accepted me into the Shepherds. You gave me something that I never thought I would be able to obtain in my life. A family to look forward to…so thank you Chrom, thank you so much for what you've done for me. I will always treasure the memories I have made with all of you. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I wouldn't trade any of those memories for the world." He said as some of the Shepherds started tearing up at Marcus's confession. "You became a brother to me, Chrom and I wish you and Sumia a well-deserved happiness filled future." He ended to the thunderous cheers of the Shepherds and to the crying couple as they knew just how much Marcus cared about them. "To Chrom and Sumia everyone." Marcus said.

"TO CHROM AND SUMIA!" They shouted back.

"Thank you so much for the speech Marcus." Sumia sniffed out in joy.

"Yes, I never knew you considered me to be like that." Chrom said crying manly tears himself.

"Aye." Marcus said as he embraced the couple in a hug. "Now let's open up your gifts now shall we?" He said as they both nodded.

Marcus soon brought two crates with him and everyone was curious to see what Marcus brought for them.

"Now who wants to go first?" He asked.

"Chrom shall, since he's your brother in all but blood." Sumia said as Chrom stepped up as Marcus pried open the first crate and soon everyone ran up to see what it was and gasped.

It was a set of azure blue armor that looked like a more refined and armored version of Chrom's outfit with his signature cape now embezzled with the symbol of Naga on it and Chrom felt each bit of armor piece on him and was surprised by how light and durable they were.

"This here Chrom is a set of Azure colored titanium armor ordered from Anna & Co by yours truly all for you brother." Marcus said with a grin as Chrom smiled and cried in joy.

"Thank you, Marcus." Chrom cried out as everyone applauded the first gift.

"It was your wedding man, you needed something special. And now for you." Marcus turned to Sumia as he opened up the second crate to reveal an ornately well-designed armor set with a Mending Staff by its side.

"Oh my." Sumia gasped out.

"This here is a Falcon Knight's armor made out of the same alloy like Chrom's armor." Marcus said proudly. It would only be fitting that you as his wife would get something just as good." He said as Sumia teared up again and the couple ran up to hug him saying thank you time and time again.

Marcus smiled at the duo, they had earned their happiness and Marcus spent two gold bars to get these Armor made for them and delivered in time for the wedding. After that, various Shepherds offered up their own gifts and congratulations to the newly wedded couple and Marcus would regard this day as another one of his best memories in his life, and he would make more memories in the years to come with the Shepherds.


	19. Postwar Interlude 3

A is for Army, Anything, and Awesome!

"I'm sorry but could you repeat what you just said?" Marcus asked with blinking eyes. "Because I am sure I did not hear you say that you wish for me to become Ylisse's Spymaster now Emmeryn." Marcus said with a surprised look on his face as he paid complete attention to Emmeryn in her office along with Philia and a select few Shepherds as well.

When Marcus was trying to fix up his heavily damaged Elite Riot Gear helmet, he was rather annoyed by the lack of materials he was working with and has actually took out a few spare helmets from his other suits of armor and tried to decide which helmet would be the best suited to help fix the helmet. In the end he took more than a few bits and pieces from his old T-45d Power Armor set since he rarely used the suit anymore and then he thought about the lack of usage his power armor sets have seen since he got here.

But just as he was about to think through the way to repair his helmet's lenses, a knock on his workshop came and it was soon revealed to be a maid that was sent by Philia to let him know that his presence was required by Emmeryn. Then as soon as he got there, he learned that due to the aftermath of the Second war with Plegia, Emmeryn decided to reinstate the Ylissean Army once more to be able to properly mount a defense force and the likes.

And naturally many of the Shepherds proved themselves during the Second War and were later promoted to certain positions and the like. Such as Vaike, Sully, Stahl, Kellam, Lon'qu, Gregor, and Donnel being promoted in the main army to officer positions. People like Cordelia and Frederick were also promoted heavily as well. Cordelia became Philia's right hand woman in the Pegasus Knight corps and Sumia was promoted to help in training a next generation of Pegasus Knights. Magic Users like Miriel and Tharja were promoted to help lead new Magic users. Ricken could not become an officer anytime soon due to not finishing his magic schooling yet and went back to finish that first. Libra, Lissa, and Maribelle became the leaders of the newly developed Medical Corps.

Meanwhile Chrom took up more leadership training from various tutors and teachers to be able to effectively lead better and he was also working on a new fighting style that could combine both his sword and a spear combo. Robin was promoted to the rank of Grandmaster, the official advisor and counselor in many matters but more importantly the war matters to be able to help create the Ylissean Army. Virion was no longer in Ylisse as he explained to Emmeryn the reason why he was there and the reports of the Conqueror disturbed her to no end that she allowed him to do what he could for the time being and learn all that he could while he was there.

But no by himself because Philia was worried he might betray them and so Panne and Nowi decided to go with him as Panne refused to be around so many humans and Nowi was rather excited about taking a tour around the continent. Gaius and Olivia were to be newly promoted officers and lieutenants to the newly created Spy Division of Ylisse and that's what Marcus soon found himself hearing and was shocked by the developments.

But back to the topic at hand.

Emmeryn nodded. "I want you to become our official Spymaster because you were the only one to caught on to the fact that the Hierarch was planning on betraying us and were it not for your warning we would have ended up in a very dangerous position." She explained.

"Yeah but that was one-time thing, anyone could have told you that if they looked into the matter." Marcus replied.

"And." Emmeryn continued. "You are perhaps the only one among the people I trust in my service to run my Spy Division without worry of you using your powers for personal gain and you are also the only one that has experience in such a matter unlike everyone else." She added in as Marcus rubbed his head a bit at that.

"I understand the logic behind what you're saying but are you really sure I'm the best man suited for this position?" He asked wearily.

Emmeryn sighed at the choices besides her. "Chrom is far too straightforward and direct that spy works would sooner blow up spectacularly in his face." She explained.

"Hey!" Chrom protested.

Marcus nodded at that. "I can see that." He said causing Chrom to squawk in protest once more.

"Philia and Fredrick are simply too busy with their own work and none of them have an ounce of the experience that you have in the field of spy and their craft." Emmeryn added in.

Philia nodded grimly at that. "While many of my Knights did survive the war in no small part due to you and Khan Basilio, we are simply too few in numbers and need to build up once again." She explained.

"Not to mention I do not have the mindset to operate such an agency." Frederick explained. "You on the other hand have been able to run circles around my words, and being part of that division needs a certain amount of silver tongue to tie yourself into many events."

Marcus sighed at that. "You do have a point for that." He admitted.

"And Robin here is going to be far too busy working as my Grandmaster and trying to establish the army in the first place so she can't possibly afford to work on this in addition to her current workload." Emmeryn explained as Robin nodded in agreement with her.

"And that effectively leaves me as the only option to pick." Marcus deduced with a small amount of worry.

"Marcus, even if there were far more competent professionals out there, you would still be my first pick." Emmeryn said with a smile. "You are the only one that has no goal to work to other then making this place your home, you have the morality, experience, the intelligence, and the charisma to operate such a division." She praised. "Please help me protect our home by taking up this position."

Marcus was silent for a moment before he sighed and looked at her with a resigned look. "And I assume you can ask anyone from the court do so?" He asked as Emmeryn shook her head violently.

"Of course not! Those parasites in the court would sooner abuse the power for all the wealth they can get than work honorably." Emmeryn said firmly. "I also have no idea which Noble Family is truly loyal as well so appointing any of them for the position is out of the question." She said.

Marcus just sighed once more before he looked to Emmeryn with a resigned but determined look. "Looks like I'm your man for the job then Emmeryn." He said as Emmeryn nodded with a very pleased look upon her face hearing that.

"Excellent, now by the power invested in me as the Exalt of Ylisse I hereby decree you to be Lord Marcus, the Spymaster of Ylisse." Emmeryn declared as he Marcus got claps for that and Marcus just chuckled. "Now that you are in a position of power, you too must take an office here in Castle Ylisstol to reflect your new status as well as a uniform to fit you as well." Emmeryn added in.

Marcus nodded at that. "Aye we do have a lot to accomplish, now don't we?" he said to the group surrounding him as they nodded and he spoke with a smirk. "So, let's get started, now shall we?" He finished with a grin.

* * *

After the meeting with Emmeryn Marcus started to work on his job as the official Spymaster in honest. He first picked up Gaius and Olivia along the way and explained their new jobs to them and added in that they officially worked for him now. Gaius simply just shrugged at the response while Olivia nervously nodded her head but she remains as firm as always in her posture and stance. It was something that Marcus found quite endearing about her.

First, they had to work with what they had and much to Marcus's disappointment there wasn't much to work with to begin. So, he started to set up a training course and field work study to have a general idea of what he's working with. And many of the initial spies were not even in fit condition or the like. Something that annoyed Marcus to no end.

So, he created an exercise regime to have them all get up to shape while he worked on trying to find new recruits to work for the Spy Division. Marcus soon asked for records of soldiers that have perform admirably during the Second War and they mainly consisted of border guards and Noble guards that were let off due to not willing to waste money on good soldiers.

Marcus picked up the most exceptional among them and soon placed the rest of the soldiers that he found that could make decent spies or the like in the training course now headed by Gaius. He taught them many skills that would be important to their work as spies and scouts for the country. Such as picking locks, stealth movement, lying well, being able to adapt on the fly, know how to use the environment, etc. By the end of the first three months as Marcus's tenure as Spymaster he was able to raise over three hundred combat ready spies and scouts reporting for duty.

He would later send the majority of those spies to Valm to take notes and reports of the Conqueror to track down his movements and to support Virion on his Intelligence gathering. While the remaining spies were to head to Plegia and to keep track of any suspicious activities that could possibly occur there and to get warnings of a possible attack on the nation.

Gaius was soon placed in command of these spies as they deal with external threats to the nation and they would report using magical means back to Gaius to get daily reports of what's going on in Valm and the likes.

It was also during this time that another two months have passed and Marcus was able to raise another battalion of spies and they were to aid in finding internal threats to Ylisse. And they were placed under Olivia's command and the reason she was made a spy was due to her timid nature and the fact that many overlook her presence due to her occupation of being a dancer by trade.

Marcus rinsed and repeated the process as many times as he could to build a solid Spy agency and within about eight months he had more 1200 spies in his agency. One of Gaius's debriefings revealed findings of a rebel group on Valm that are resisting the efforts of Walhart and they have actually delayed his invasion plans by setting alight his boats that he was going to use to invade their nation.

Marcus was rather grateful to the rebels and resolved himself to find who they were later on and if they were not the kind to attack civilians and only attacked Walhart and his army, they would make useful allies. But for now, Marcus was reserving his judgement since he didn't know if these rebels could be trusted.

Meanwhile on Olivia's side, she found more than a dozen Noble families involved with embezzling, torture, murder, and assassinations against various people of various positions. She would send the reports to Marcus who would then report to Emmeryn of his findings and bring back substantial proof of their crimes and soon Emmeryn was able to take out many bad apples in her court and put into power younger Noble families that were loyal to her and her alone.

Emmeryn in her private tea time with Marcus affectionately refer to him as her "Trash Man." For his work in cleaning up the trash so to say. And Marcus soon gained a healthy amount of fear and respect from Emmeryn's court for Marcus's extreme efficiency in cleaning out the corruption from within. Mainly fear from those that are worried he might find their dirty secrets and respect from the honorable nobles that have respect for the work that Marcus is doing.

That's not to say to ignore Robin's efforts in creating an army. She was able to plan and recruit more than three thousand people into joining the army. She was able to have them all trained to acceptable standards and those that showed leadership capabilities were soon promoted to be officers and within a timeframe she was able to create a standing army for Ylisse that consisted of seven thousand soldiers by the time it took Marcus to fund and raise his Spy Agency to have 1200 spies.

It was also something that she teased him for. Her being able to recruit and train that many soldiers in the same timeframe that it took Marcus to recruit and train 1200 spies. He also took it in good jest as well. But to ensure that the army wasn't siting around and doing nothing all day. Robin sent many of the soldiers to villages to help ward off bandits and wild animals that would attack said villages. Crops yield went higher as a result and more food and profit was being brought to Ylisse's treasury.

It was during this time that Marcus started working on a personal project that he believed could aid Ylisse in the long-term run. For a long time, he has noted that there were many soldiers that prefer light armor and the likes and he thought that it was possible to create cloth armor that he dubbed "Ballistic Weave." The Ballistic Weave would basically help protect the user from arrows and sword attacks that typical leather or light armor was incapable of doing.

He originally got the idea from when House mentioned the idea of cloth armor back in his days as a researcher but focused more on robotics instead. It took Marcus many trials and errors to actually prefect such an armor and by the time he finally finished it the first prototype, he was very pleased with himself.

He tested the armor with archers and he would later test it with small arms fire and much to his shock it was able to shrug off a 10mm round from his pistol. He then started to use the data from the prototype weave and made a more improved and enhanced pretest weave and it was able to resist it more effectively and Marcus started experimenting with different kind of weaves to test out their variation.

The end result was a formidable weave that could be sewn into uniforms and help provide additional protecting for the user. When he first brought the finished product to Emmeryn, she was amazed by what he created and shown the five variations of the Ballistic Weave he made. Much to everyone's surprise it was able to shrug off arrows fired from many kind of bows and it was able to help shrug off sword slashes, axe hacks, and even spear thrusts.

So Emmeryn agreed to help fund the creation of Marcus's Ballistic Weave. And it was made available for everyone in the Shepherds, Philia and her Pegasus Knight Corps, and army officers in the military at the time. The Shepherds were by default far more skilled than any other warrior that Ylisse has so they had early access to this armor. It even caused Vaike to put on a shirt more often now. The Pegasus Knight Corps were next on the list because they only went for the second lightest Weave and it was far easier to make and do for them. The Army Officers were harder because many of them had their own preference for what they wanted to use.

And because Ballistic Weave is a very recent development, it took a while for all the Weave to finally be made. But Marcus can proudly say that Ylisse now actually had a decent army to protect the nation and the people from harm.

Of course, in the middle of a military buildup people tend to forget other important things that are going on. And it can range from mundane reasons to incredibly serious reasons.

So naturally Marcus and Robin were caught off guard when Sumia was announcing that she was finally about to have her baby and that her water had broke.


	20. Postwar Interlude 4

A New Life in Passing Time

Chrom busted into Marcus's office just as he was taking a water break. "MARCUS!" Chrom shouted. "I HAVE IMPORTANT NEWS!" He shouted as he stopped to take a breath and wipe off the sweat on his face as he ran as fast as he could to get to him.

Marcus on the other hand winced at the loud volume Chrom shouted at him in and then noticed the serious and desperate look on his face before he focused on him. "What is it Chrom? Did Walhart and his army invade earlier than predicted? Plegia attacking Ylisse again? More Risen that had to be exterminated or what?" He asked quickly.

"Even more important!" Chrom shouted as Marcus widened his eyes at that. "Sumia's water broke!" He shouted.

Marcus went still when he heard that. "Sumia's water broke." He repeated as Chrom nodded. "Which means…she's going into labor." He whispered before his eyes went bug eyed at the news. "OH MY GOD!" Marcus shouted loudly. "Sumia's giving birth!" He shouted as Chrom nodded.

Chrom nodded again at that. "Yes, and we need you to come quick!" Chrom said rapidly as Marcus nodded in agreement.

"Then to birthing chambers!" He shouted as Marcus ran out closely followed by Chrom as he took a quick shortcut out the window and jumped as he grabbed one the banners hanging out and landed on the ground quickly as Chrom did the same as they ran past various servants and guards to reach Sumia's current location.

Then as soon as they reached the chambers, both men saw the vast majority of the Shepherds and the Exalt there with Philia.

"Marcus, Chrom." Emmeryn greeted the out of breath men.

"Are we late?" Marcus asked wheezing somewhat.

"No, Sumia is still giving birth with Lissa, Maribelle, and Libra helping deliver the child." Philia answered.

As if to respond to her answer Sumia's loud screams could be heard causing everyone to flinch at the sound of her loud scream.

"Come on Sumia! You're almost there!" Lissa shouted.

"IT HURTS SO MUCH!" Sumia yelled.

"Easy now dear, you're getting close to the end of it, just stay calm!" Maribelle squeaked out as she seems on the verge of panicking but seemed to have kept her composure for the most part.

"OH NAGA! CHROM! WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE ANY MORE KIDS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" Sumia shouted angrily as Chrom went bone white at what he heard Sumia shouted at him as many of the guys looked at him in pity.

"It's there! It's there!" Libra shouted. "I can see the head! Now Sumia I need you to give me one final push!" He shouted as Sumia gave out her loudest scream yet before all went silent.

"You don't think…" Chrom trailed off in worry and fear as everyone give him a worried look before they heard it. they heard the cries, the cries of a newborn baby brought into the world. "Oh, thank Naga." Chrom sighed in relief.

Soon the doors opened to reveal a very exhausted Lissa smiling triumphantly in victory. "We delivered a healthy baby girl and Sumia is recovering just fine now." She said to the group.

"Let me through Lissa." Chrom asked as he walked up to Lissa. "I want to see my child and wife now." He said as Lissa nodded and let him pass through along with Emmeryn as well, since she was also family and then went back inside the chambers soon after.

Marcus stood there alongside with the rest of the Shepherds and they could hear Chrom crying out loud in happiness as he no doubt saw his precious newborn child and saw just how beautiful his child is along with how fragile she was.

Then the group outside heard Emmeryn cooing at the baby in delight as she made some playful baby talk with the girl. And then shortly after her cooing Maribelle came out looing rather frazzled and tired. "Sumia has recovered sufficiently enough, but do try to be quiet when entering." Maribelle said to the Shepherds as they all nodded and soon Marcus was the first to walk up as Maribelle asked the other Shepherds to stop and only allow one of them at a time.

As soon as Marcus got inside he soon saw Sumia on the bed under covers holding her baby like it was the most precious treasure in the world and Chrom, Emmeryn, and Lissa fawning over said baby.

"So that's your child huh." Marcus spoke up causing everyone to look up to see him. "She's a cute kid Chrom." Marcus said with a smile.

"She's just adorable." Lissa cooed at the baby.

"She is." Marcus said warmly. "Have you picked a name for her yet?" He asked.

Sumia and Chrom both nodded to Marcus. "We decided that we want to name our child Lucina." Sumia said with a smile at the sleeping named girl in her arms.

"Lucina, so that's her name from now on." Marcus said with a soft smile on his face as he got closer to the baby as she blinked her eyes one moment as she took a yawn and fell back to sleep. But during the time she blinked slowly Marcus could see the Brand of the Exalt on her eye. "Huh, I did not expect for the Brand to appear on her eye of all places." Marcus noted.

"Believe me Marcus, it came as a surprise to us too." Chrom admitted.

Lissa sighed. "Well at least she has her Brand." She said a bit sadly.

"Now, now Lissa." Emmeryn consoled. "Though it may not have shown up on your person, you are still family to us as always." She said warmly as she pulled her in for a hug.

"Besides." Marcus spoke up. "The fact that Lucina's Brand appeared on her eye actually gives several theories about why the Brand did not appear on your person." He said gaining the interest of the Lissa and everyone else.

"May I ask what do you mean by that Marcus?" Emmeryn asked.

"Well it's a given that the Brand of the Exalt has generally appear on your skin somewhere correct?" Marcus asked for clarification.

Chrom nodded at that. "That is generally the case for the most part yes." He admitted.

"But your daughter's Brand appeared on her eye." Marcus pointed out. "That's not any part of her skin but an organ of sorts at that." He explained to the surprised looks of the family.

"So, what you're suggesting is that the reason why we haven't found Lissa's brand is because it might be on the inside on one of her organs or something like that?" Emmeryn asked.

"Precisely, it would be a reasonable assumption and would explain why it's not her." Marcus said.

"Aww, you're such a sweet guy Marcus, cheering up a woman like that." Lissa cooed.

Everyone had a bit of a laugh at that before Chrom spoke up. "Marcus, me and Sumia have something that we wanted to ask you." He said.

"Go ahead." Marcus shrugged.

"Will you be willing to become Lucina's Godfather?" Sumia asked as Marcus went bug eyed at that.

"I'm sorry…you want me to be the what for the who?" Marcus asked quickly.

"Me and Chrom wish for you to become Lucina's Godfather and Guardian when none of us are available." Sumia said and rephrased again for Marcus.

"…But why?" Marcus asked. "Why me of all people?"

"Because." Chrom spoke up. "You become a man that I can trust to watch my back and someone I can trust to watch my child as well." He said with a smile. "Will you please do me the honor of becoming Lucina's Godfather?" He asked.

Marcus was silent for a moment before he smiled at him. "Like I could deny such a request after hearing such heartfelt words." He said to the beaming couple just as Lucina woke up again and seemed to babble happily towards Marcus.

"Ah it seems she want to be held by you, would you like to hold her?" Sumia asked as she offered Lucina to Marcus as he nodded as he gently took Lucina into his arms and had a good and soft hold on her.

"Ah, she likes you." Emmeryn cooed as Lucina laughed happily in Marcus's direction as he could only smile happily at the baby in his arms as he sat down in a seat to make sure he can support her.

"Hey there kiddo." Marcus said softly. "Looks like I'm going to be your Godfather from now on." He said as Lucina burped his way causing him to chuckle as he rocked her away for now as everyone watching the scene practically melted on the inside when they saw this.

"Thank you for accepting our request Marcus." Chrom said happily as Sumia nodded as well.

* * *

"Marcus may I come in?" Emmeryn asked as she knocked on the door.

"You can let yourself in, the door is unlocked." Marcus called out as Emmeryn nodded and entered Marcus's office and she noticed just how warm and open it felt.

Marcus's desk was by the window where there was sunlight to shine through the office, across from his desk was a fireplace so he can heat it up and it was burning quite comfortably. To the right of the desk was a shelf filled with books of records and the like. On the ground there was a carpet and several chairs and side tables for guest such as herself to sit by and be warmed up by the fire. And behind the desk to the right of Marcus's desk was a cabinet filled with files and paper records.

It was overall a pretty cozy and clean office with three doors. One that leads straight to Marcus's room, another for bathing and cleaning purpose. And the door she came through was to the left of the office. Then coming out of his bedroom Marcus looked somewhat frazzled as he pulled out a bottle and offered her a drink which she graciously accepted.

"So, what can I do for you Emmeryn?" Marcus asked as he leaned back into his office chair not showing much formality in his behavior. "Is it a pesky Noble you want me to look into? Some new invention you were hoping to bring to Ylisse? Or is it something else entirely?" He asked.

"I just want to talk to you Marcus." Emmeryn replied. "We haven't had a lot of time to talk normally, not since Chrom and Sumia had you become Lucina's babysitter." She said as Marcus snorted a bit.

"Apparently, I know how to take care of Lucina perfectly okay and that she seems to prefer me more than her other nannies so more often than not she is left with me as I try to do my work." Marcus sighed. "Key word being try, because I need to ensure that Lucina is happy and okay as well."

Emmeryn nodded at that. "Thank goodness for Gaius and Olivia being able to take more of your workload then." She said as Marcus smiled at her again.

"Ah they needed the extra work, can't have them doing too little now that we got an up and running information network running." He said as Emmeryn hummed at that.

"Speaking of which, what is the latest details in Valm?" Emmeryn asked.

"Well supposedly Virion, Panne, and Nowi are okay for the most part and have actually managed to regain the trust of his people for now. As spies from Ylisse are providing details for what the people hope for from Walhart." Marcus started off. "We have also managed to identify the leader of the most active Resistance Group by the name of Say'ri, a Princess of Cho'sin." He reported.

Emmeryn nodded. "So, is it possible she could make an ally for the Ylisse?" She asked.

"Possibly." Marcus admitted. "However, the strangest thing that we know of is that her brother, by the name of Yen'fay is fighting for the Empire at the moment." He explained to the shock of Emmeryn.

"Her brother sided with Walhart even after all he's done to their nation?!" Emmeryn asked in shock as Marcus nodded. "But why?" She questioned.

"No one knows for sure. But because of that and the fact that he is regarded as one of the best warriors under Walhart's command. She doesn't have a lot of support for her group at the moment." Marcus reported. "Some of our other spies have reported that other leaders are content to just him Walhart do whatever for now." As Emmeryn sighed at that.

"Please tell me that you have good news for me Marcus." Emmeryn nearly begged.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Marcus said apologetically. "From recent reports that our spies sent, Walhart is estimated to have a total of nearly eight hundred thousand men and growing." He said with regret as Emmeryn's eyes nearly popped out.

"Eight hundred thousand warriors and growing." Emmeryn whispered out.

"Some of our analysts think by the next year, he will have about one million men." Marcus said grimly. "And that's when most of them believe that will be when Walhart makes his move for Ylisse and our other neighboring countries."

"Is there nothing we can do?" Emmeryn nearly pleaded.

"Not at the moment we can't." Marcus admitted. "As of now while there are a lot more people than there are soldiers under Walhart's command. Many of them are too scared to make a move and the fact that Walhart is building victory after victory to make it seem like he's a God in human form just makes others far too scared to face him with a few exceptions." Marcus said.

Emmeryn slumped in despair at that. "We are looking at a very long road before us." She muttered.

Marcus nodded. "Yes, however we do have information that could help us." He explained as Emmeryn's eyes jumped in hope. "We received word that the Voice of Naga has been imprisoned by Walhart in her sacred tree and angering a lot of religious pilgrims and civilians. I believe that if we could get the Voice on our side we would stand a chance of gaining support to face Walhart's massive army."

Emmeryn raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you really think that the people will rise up to fight against Walhart if the Voice joins forces with us?" She asked.

"I've talked to Libra about this and the spies send reports of the people of Valm being rather religious. He believes that if the Voice joins forces with is against Walhart, the people will rise." Marcus explained. "And we also have a few more advantages as well." He added in.

"And that is?" Emmeryn motioned for him to continue.

"Walhart is operating under the assumption we don't know about him." Marcus pointed out. "With that in mind he is only going to assume that we are rather weak and unstable. But instead he gets an army that will fight back against him. And we know what is one of his most important tactics." He said with a grin.

"His most important tactic?" Emmeryn asked.

"Many spies report that Walhart loves using Calvary charges when he can." Marcus said with a smirk as Emmeryn worked out the details and came to the answer.

"And one of the most important things the Ylissean Army has being doing is learning how to use their spears and pikes against Calvary charges." Emmeryn breathed out.

"Correct but there is one more thing that he won't be expecting as well." Marcus added in. "A skilled Tactician, from our spies they report of a very cruel and very rude person as Walhart's Tactician and his results are average at best and he only won because of superior numbers. Whereas our Tactician is much better."

"And because Walhart is doing mass conscription which means average training while our army's training is far superior, we might stand a chance against him." Emmeryn deduced.

Marcus nodded. "And I had details of Walhart and his army sent to Khans Flavia and Basilio so they're training and improving their warriors to match the elite warriors that Walhart will send here first while reinforcing their sea ports."

At that, Emmeryn smiled wonderfully at Marcus. "I had my worries but once again your spy network came through for us." She said sweetly.

Marcus chuckled. "Just doing my job Emmeryn." He shrugged off as the two smiled at each other for a moment till Lucina started waking up again. "Ah, seems Lucina needs care now." Marcus said as he went back to his room to watch over Lucina now as Emmeryn smiled at him with pride and respect.


	21. Postwar Interlude 5

A Birthday for Someone Special

When building an army, one can get incredibly focused and suffer from tunnel vision over what they need to do to ensure that the army they are building remains both effective and in high morale. Most people tend to forget about what they're doing, what day it is, what is coming up soon and so on. And it just so happens a certain Tactician has forgotten what day is coming up soon that she has yet to notice people sneaking around her for the most part.

Like a certain Spymaster is doing with his colleges and companions.

"So in about a week or so will be the day that you found Robin and me?" Marcus asked as he tended to Lucina in his baby carry on strap that he made for easy of carrying Lucina around the castle. Something that endeared him to the maids around the castle and became something of an urban legend as many are having a hard time that the Spymaster is carrying around the royal baby.

Chrom and Sumia nodded as Lissa cooed at baby Lucina in Marcus's baby carry on straps. "Yeah we figured that Robin should have that as her birthday." Chrom replied. "Since we don't know her birthday we figured it would be the best time to have that as her birthday instead." Chrom answered.

"That makes sense I suppose." Marcus nodded as he handed Lissa a rattle that she used to play with Lucina. "Now the question is what is the purpose of telling me that?" he asked.

Sumia looked at him a bit in surprise before she calmed down a bit. "I'm assuming they don't celebrate birthdays back where you're from?" She asked as Marcus nodded at that.

"Everyone's too busy on trying to survive to care about celebrating birthdays." Marcus explained. "Unless you happen to have the caps and connections, chances are your birthday will pass by like any other day." He said calmly.

At that everyone looked a bit sad at that. "Forgot how hostile your world is." Lissa muttered as she looked at Marcus with something akin to pity.

"It wouldn't matter either way to me." Marcus shrugged. "I don't even remember my birthday at all, so I just took the date that I woke up to be my birthday." He commented. "It's October 19th in case you folks were curious." He added in.

Everyone nodded at that. "Well in that case." Emmeryn spoke up. "Let me tell of what people typically in our world do on birthday celebrations." She said as she slowly explained the concept to Marcus who listened with rapt attention and nodded at every bit of info that Emmeryn had to tell him about birthday celebrations.

"I see." Marcus hummed out in thought. "I suppose this means I would have to find Robin a gift for her birthday then to celebrate such an occasion." He commented as he rubbed his chin in contemplation.

Sumia nodded. "Precisely, me and Chrom are thinking of giving Robin a whole new set of robes to celebrate her birthday as she seems especially attached to them and to help show the position of power that Robin is in." She explained.

"And some added armor pieces as well." Chrom chimed in. "Remember the duel with Mustafa?" Chrom asked as everyone nodded at that. "I figured Robin could use some more protection while she is fighting." He explained.

Marcus nodded at that. "That would do her some good on the battlefield." He complimented. "The only thing that I am not sure what to do is what I should really get her though." He said with a frown upon his face.

"That's going to be a bit tough then." Lissa commented. "I mean we all saw what you got Chrom and Sumia for their wedding." She commented as the two in question nodded at that. "It's going to be hard to equal that kind of gift of sorts." She added in.

"And that's not including the fact that Robin would most likely prefer something useful and something that she would most likely use every day as well." Chrom added in his own thoughts on the matter.

"So, the real question is." Marcus said putting in his own thought on the matter.

"What kind of gift should you get Robin?" Sumia finished for him as Marcus nodded her way as Lissa dropped by with Lucina and Sumia soon started cooing over her child.

At that most of the group went silent as they all had their own ideas on what they want to get Robin but Marcus was kind of in trouble as he was dating Robin of sorts now for a while so as her boyfriend. He should be getting her something extra special.

"If I may have a suggestion for you Marcus, if you are willing to accept it, of course." Emmeryn spoke up to the group as they paid attention to the Exalt.

"I am ready to take just about any idea at this point really." Marcus admitted as he paid attention to Emmeryn. "So, what is your ideal?" he soon asked the Exalt of his nation for the time being.

Emmeryn simply smiled as if she had the simple solution to all of life's problems and questions or when she was giving Chrom a somewhat exasperated look for thinking too little on the problem and brute forcing his way through anything. However, in Marcus's case he was overthinking the entire issue.

"I believe you mentioned that during your first spar with Chrom and Robin, you commented how Robin was complaining that she had a rather basic and simple but effectively powerful sword to use in combat." She said as Marcus froze at that. "So why not simply get her a sword that is unique in its own way such as that Levin Sword you took from Gangrel or perhaps one of your Saturnite Blades?" She asked.

After hearing that and after some time to think about it. Marcus simply groaned and bumped his head against the wall for a few minutes, much to the amusement of everyone around him. And so Marcus decided that he would give Robin a unique blade but he decided to check out on a certain theory first before he does anything else.

* * *

"You wish to know if it is possible to combine a Levin Sword with one of your Saturnite Blades?" Miriel asked as she looked up from her research scrolls and stared at Marcus with blinking eyes.

Marcus nodded. "I want to know if it was possible to forge the two swords together." He confessed. "You see I heard that Levin Swords, while powerful, tend to not be as stable as other blades and can fall apart pretty fast, but I thought that what if I was to combine the magic of the Levin Sword with that of a Saturnite Blade's durability?" he offered.

Miriel hummed at that thought process. "Normally I would have dismissed such a possibility as swordsmiths and mages throughout the ages have attempted to do so and failed." She started off. "But with you, it might be crazy enough to work." She added in.

"Great, is there anything I need to do?" Marcus asked as Miriel nodded.

"First I am going to need that Levin Sword you've been holding on to as well as one of your Saturnite Blades to test the compatibility." She started off as Marcus pulled said swords from his Pipboy.

"Here they are." Marcus said as Miriel took the blades and put it in her laboratory.

"Good, now you may leave Marcus, it will take me a couple of days to determine if it is possible." She said as Marcus nodded and left Miriel to do her work as he went of to do his duties as both Spymaster and babysitter.

It was only a couple of days later that Miriel came by in with a rather excited look on her face. Marcus looked up from his paperwork to see that Miriel was breathing with excitement as he raised his eyebrows at this. "I'm assuming that it can work?" He asked.

Miriel nodded excitedly. "At first, I thought that your blade would be unable to conduct the magic from the sword properly but to my astonishment it actually can absorb and channel magic through with the right materials, practice, and resources!" Miriel said with an excited smile.

"So yes then?" Marcus asked again as Miriel nodded. "Okay so do you happen to know about weaving magic into swords and the like?" Marcus soon asked with a grin as Miriel nodded just as excitedly. "Well let's get to work then." He said.

* * *

For the next two days, Marcus, Miriel, and some of the best swordsmiths in Ylisse were working what they can to forge the sword that Marcus had intended to present to Robin. The most difficult part was trying to melt down the blade to begin with and it took a lot of creativity on both Miriel and Marcus's parts to do so. And then came the slow rebuilding of the blade mixed with the elements of the Levin Sword and a few other enchantments and forging to make the blade that was to be gifted. When Marcus looked at the finished product, he grinned insanely.

* * *

The next day was the most shocking day in Robin's life. When she went out for her usual walk through town she didn't see any of the familiar faces she normally would have. And then when she came back to her room, everything was gone, all of her clothes, books, reports, and everything was gone.

Naturally she panicked. Then she came across Chrom and Sumia, they managed to calm her down and decided to bring her to another room to sit down. Then she received the best surprise she had in her life, as far as she knows.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The Shepherds shouted as Robin nearly jumped out of her skin as they all laughed and clapped for her.

"What…what's all this?" Robin murmured to the group before her.

"Today is the day we found you out in the fields Robin." Chrom said with a grin as he patted her on the shoulder.

"So, we decided since you couldn't remember your birthday we would make the day you came into our lives your birthday." Sumia said cheerfully as she pulled Robin into a hug. "And we also moved all your personals into this new room that will be better suited for you as well." She added in.

Robin started smile widely and teared joyfully as everyone started singing her happy birthday with Sumia coming along to bring the cake that she and a few other Shepherds helped bake. Then Marcus came in with his knives and started cutting up the cake and much to the joy of everyone's taste buds, it was delicious.

"All right everyone! It's time for presents!" Chrom soon called out as everyone cheered and soon one by one the Shepherds drop by and gave Robin their gifts. And she received fine alcohol, clothes, books, ornaments, accessories, weapons, spell tomes, and even the grandmaster Coat and Armor that Chrom and Sumia provided till it was time for Marcus's turn.

He soon stepped up after Robin received her overseas gift from Virion, Nowi, and Panne. "Hey there Robin." Marcus called out with a smile on his face.

"Marcus." Robin chimed in as she saw Marcus holding a narrow package for her. "What kind of gift did you get me?" She asked.

Marcus soon smirked at that and offered up his gift. "You have to unwrap and find out." He said which Robin did just that as she undid the wrappings and the ribbons and what she discovered made her gasp in shock.

Marcus's gift was an elegant sword. It had a black grip with a jeweled tip near the end of the handle, with a golden cross guard with black lightning symbols at each of the end. And in the middle of the cross guard was golden part of the grip with a black lightning symbol. The blade pit was sheathed inside a black enchanted scabbard as Robin slowly pulled out the sword and gasped at the magnificent black blade with gold lining cackling with power.

"What…what is this sword?" Robin asked in awe.

"That Robin, is a Saturnite Blade forged with Gangrel's Levin Blade making it so the magic of the sword will never vanish and allow it to act as a conduit for your magical powers." Marcus explained. "I hope you like it Robin." He then added in a happy smile.

"It's beautiful!" Robin exclaimed in awe of the sword as Marcus simply smiled at her.

"I remember long ago you desired for a unique sword of your own like me and Chrom once had." Marcus explained. "And through intense research and the prowess of some of the best mages and blacksmiths, we forged that blade." Marcus said softly.

"And does this sword have a name?" Robin asked as Marcus nodded at that.

"Its name is Nebula Blitz." Marcus explained. "The Lightning of the Stars." He said softly.

"A wonderful name for sword made by someone not from our world." Sumia said softly.

"I suppose so." Marcus admitted before Robin tackled him into a hug and she started kissing him.

"You are the best boyfriend in the entire world!" Robin chirped as Marcus smiled and hugged her back as he kissed her back and they both enjoyed it as everyone simply found themselves smiling at the couple.

"Damn right I am." Marcus replied the two enjoyed the rest of Robin's birthday together with much smiles and laughter to the point they both fell asleep in the same bed and the Spymaster and Grandmaster simply didn't care then snuggled together for the rest of the night.


	22. Postwar Interlude Final

The Shipping that you all been waiting for! (Maybe)

"So, you're finally going to do it now Marcus?" Chrom asked as Marcus was suiting up for his date.

"That's the plan I have." Marcus admitted as he put on his coat for the evening.

"And you're not getting cold feet or planning to back out of it or get depressed if she does turn you down?" Chrom asked as he watched Marcus turn around as he looked at himself in a full-length mirror nodding at his outfit.

"When you've been going through what I have in the past, you learn to keep low expectations for yourself." Marcus said to Chrom. "I guess in a way I guess I am prepared to get rejected by Robin if it comes down to that." He said as he looked down to the small velvet box he was holding in his palm.

Chrom hummed at that. "You know, the way that you and Robin were dating for a while now, all of us thought you were going to get married sooner or later but instead you two took the time to actually date for a bit before you decided to think about proposing to her." He noted.

"And I personally believe that my way is better than all of your ways considering all of you just got married after less than about two to three months." Marcus said as he rolled his eyes at Chrom and Chrom just chuckled sheepishly as he was taking a shot at not only him and Sumia but everyone else in the Shepherds that were married because they all got married after about two to three months as well.

Something that Marcus personally disapprove of as Boone taught him that marriage means being together for life and to be able to accept each other in their entirety. So, he decided to take his relationship slow with Robin to see if they truly did like each other and Marcus felt that after a year and a half of dating or so. He was more than ready to admit that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Robin through thick and thin.

"I guess when you put it in perspective it does look like a lot of Shepherds got married rather quickly." Chrom chuckled as he rubbed his head again. In the aftermath of Chrom's wedding there was Lissa's wedding with Lon'qu, Kellam's wedding with Sully, Stahl's wedding with Cordelia, Ricken's wedding with Miriel, Gaius's wedding with Maribelle, Libra's surprising wedding with Tharja of all people, Donnel long distance relationship with Nowi was also noted, Virion was also mentioned being in a relationship of sorts with Panne.

"Quite." Marcus nodded to Chrom. "So, wish me luck on my hope to propose to Robin then." He said as he waved good bye to Chrom who simply waved back as he looked to the stack of paper he had on his desk and sighed as he had the unenviable task of doing the paperwork again.

* * *

"Marcus!" Robin called out as she soon saw Marcus approach her with a calm look on his face but smiling nonetheless. "It's good to see you here and I see that you are looking sharp as always." Robin said as she embraced with Marcus as she nodded approvingly of his outfit after they separated.

Marcus smiled even more warmly at that. "It's nice to know that you approve of my attire for the evening." He said with a charming smile. "And I can see that I'm not the only sharply dressed person here for our date tonight." He commented as he looked approvingly at Robin's black and red hugging dress for the night.

Robin smiled back at him slyly. "I dress to impress." She commented before leaning in to his ears. "And if you do well on tonight's date, you may see what's behind them." She whispered sensually.

Marcus's smile widened a bit at that. "Is that a challenge?" He said quietly to her as he pulled her in for a hug as they lean in for a kiss before pulling back.

Robin's response was for her to smile a bit sultry at him and giggle a bit as slyly smiled at him. "Maybe." She said in a teasing sing song voice.

"Then let's hope I can live up to your expectations tonight then." Marcus replied charmingly as he offered his arm to Robin which she gladly took as they entered the restaurant that Marcus had ordered a reservation at.

"What a wonderful place." Robin commented as she took a look around and nodded approvingly at Marcus as she took in the atmosphere of this restaurant and sighed in relief at the soft music playing and the delicious scent of food passing by her.

Marcus smiled back to her. "Virion is good for knowing about these types of places." He commented. "Not that I would ever admit to him." He added as both he and Robin chuckled at that. Virion can be rather overbearing at times and rather prideful as well.

"I would not doubt that." Robin admitted as their waiter finally took them to their seat…out in the balcony out where the full moon was shining brightly at where they were supposed to be seated surrounded by bright red and gold lanterns surrounding them. "Oh my." Robin gasped out.

Marcus smirked mischievously at her. "I got us the balcony table for our date." He explained. "It costed me a fair bit of gold but considering I've been saving up for a long while this is easily within my budget for tonight." He explained.

"Marcus, you didn't have to do this for our date tonight even when I said what tonight's prize was." Robin said to him with wide eyes as Marcus shrugged calmly at that.

"What can I say Robin?" Marcus replied with a sly look on his face. "I get the best for my date no matter what." He said before adding in. "Because only the best suits a wonderful woman as yourself." He said seriously as Robin blushed at that.

"Marcus." Robin muttered shyly.

"Now let us order our dinner then." Marcus spoke up as he picked up the dinner menu and Robin did just that and looked surprised at all the choices they had to offer. "And do not worry, I am paying for tonight's dinner as well so feel free to order whatever it is you wish." He added in.

Robin blinked at that and looking back at the princes of some of these meals made her want to protest but at the same time she couldn't do so upon seeing the serious look that Marcus had and seeing as it would be insulting to order the cheapest meal here. She decided to order a meal that would interest her.

Eventually she would have decided on oysters while Marcus would go for steak. They spent a delightful time dining and talking over their work days, how things have gone for them and how much work they have left to deal with. Marcus was explaining to Robin over the process of training a certain group of people he trusted on how to make the Ballistic Weave and explaining some of the many difficulties that his trainees were experiencing along the training course.

Robin in return would discuss the difficulties that she had in raising the army to be as powerful as she did at the moment. She explained the troubles that she had with various Nobles who simply won't cooperate with her and actively tried to undermine her efforts by deriding her to be no more than a mere warmonger now that the war with Plegia was done. She also had trouble with various nobility who refused to let her use their land to help train up the army and had to take a series of measurements to allow them to train in their territory by appealing to their egos or using the secrets that Marcus himself passed up to Emmeryn to remove them from power and replace them with newer Nobles that were much willing to go along with her.

Soon they talked about all the kinds of mischief that the Shepherds got into such as the time when Miriel and Tharja accidentally created a spell that animated all the vegetables that a local village sent to them as an offering and it took the most of the Shepherds the better part of the day to collect them all and had the spell that animated them in the first place removed. They also discuss the time the Shepherds tried and epically failed at renovating the castle which caused the wall that Marcus was behind bathing to break down and collapse before them.

Then they soon finished their dinner and called for wine and sweets such as cakes and pies which they both enjoyed greatly as they found out they had a sweet tooth and both have indulged in sweet food while on their date. Soon it went like that for a bit till Marcus finally decided to work up his nerve.

"Robin?" He gently called out.

"Yes?" Robin responded as she finished her slice of apple pie. "What is it Marcus?" She soon asked.

Marcus was silent for a bit before he got up to her knelt to her surprising Robin before he soon spoke again.

"Robin." Marcus started off. "I was there when we first met on that fateful day so long ago, the day that we fought against not only the bandits but also the Risen, it was the day that I formed a companionship with you." He started off. "At first I was unsure as to what to make of you other then the fact that you were lost throughout the world." He said before he smiled. "But then the more and more time I spent with you, I realized you were a fantastic woman of both in and out of the battlefield. You had a love for art, you were not that used to cooking, you were fun loving, hardworking, and earnest no matter where you were." He said as Robin blushed as she took in his words.

"Marcus." Robin said softly.

"And you continued to surprise me the more and more we interacted and you proven yourself to be an amazing warrior as you are a strategist." Marcus continued on like there was nothing interrupting him. "When it came down to my past, you looked at me with concern and understandable fear, but when you accepted me all the same, it felt as though a huge burden on my back was gone and I knew I had a family that I can trust in." He said as he blinked back tears to that day. "I drank and spent time with you during the aftermath of our victory, your first kiss to me came as a surprise and when you saved me from Gangrel you did so mastering a tome that few mages in the world could do so." He said with amazement.

"Marcus." Robin repeated again like it was a mantra of some kind.

"When we danced the night of our victory, I told you that I was unsure of how to feel or deal with your feelings for me." Marcus replied gently before he gained a confident grin that made Robin's heart skip a beat as she paused in her breathing hoping to hear what it she had waited for a year and a half for Marcus to say.

"I love you Robin and I want to marry you."

And at long last Robin's hopes and dream was fulfilled and she gasped and teared up a bit when Marcus pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a ruby encrusted ring in it before her. "Marcus!" She said as she covered her face tearing up now.

"Robin, I have dated you for so long and after all the time we spent together, all the times we dated, and held onto each other. I have decided that I want to spend the rest of my life in eternity with you Robin." Marcus said strongly. "Robin, will you marry me?" He asked.

Robin choked back a sob as she nodded rapidly in Marcus's direction before she regained her voice again. "Yes Marcus! I will marry you, I will become your wife, I will love you every day no matter what the future holds for us. I will cherish you till the end of time itself. I will be your wife, your partner, your other half for the rest of eternity. I will bear you as many children as I can Marcus." She sobbed out as she all but leaped out from her chair and hugged and sobbed on Marcus relentlessly.

Marcus smiled at what he heard. "Then Robin, will you please put on the engagement ring then?" He asked as Robin nodded and gasped once again at how beautifully the ring fitted on her finger and how beautiful it looked on her hand.

"It's…it's beautiful!" Robin said as he Marcus stood up and lifted her up now as the moon shined on the two warriors.

"No matter what Robin." Marcus started off. "No matter how many times I have to say it, I will love you and cherish you for the rest of my life." He said firmly.

"And no matter how many times I have to say it." Robin replied softly. "I will always love you." She said as the two finally pulled in for the kiss they've been waiting for as the wind gently blew by them as they stood there for what seems like eternity.


	23. Chapter 16

It has been two years since Gangrel's downfall at the hands of the Shepherds and the Ylissean Pegasus Knight Corps. Two years since a certain Amnesic and Courier arrived in Ylisse. In the aftermath of the war, Ylisse has been experiencing an unprecedent time of peace and prosperity as the now famed members of the Shepherds disbanded for the time being to support Ylisse in their own ways and becoming famous for their deeds and adventures.

Few have widely been regarded as war heroes and were celebrated as some of the greatest champions to have been seen in Ylisse yet. Yet despite all the fact they were lauded and praised as great men and women they were still very much human and humans were not as infallible as supposed perfect beings.

Others would argue that there is no such thing as a perfect being and perfection is but the path and not the end of the path. Some would say that perfection is only but a perspective in the eyes of the beholder and that no matter what one should never let their own quest for perfection overwhelm their lives.

But the common people do not know that, they see their heroes and champions as the seemingly perfect beings, incapable of making any sort of mistakes.

"Chrom! I am quitting right now!" Robin shouted as she busted into Chrom's office looking rather upset.

Which is why they would truly be shocked to see one of their war heroes act in such in an unsightly fashion as said hero looked incredibly annoyed and aggravated right now.

Chrom blinked as he looked up from his paperwork to see that his Tactician was fuming at him with an incredibly annoyed expression on her face as another person walked in and Chrom smiled as it was a familiar person he regarded highly but he then turned his attention back to Robin.

"Okay what's the issue this time around?" Chrom asked, though not really disturbed as he was far more amused than anything else with Robin's reactions as Robin seemingly took offense to his light reaction.

"What is it?" Robin whispered. "You mean to ask me what is it?" She asked again sounding offended. "I tell you the reason what the issue! The issue is her!" Robin nearly shouted as she pointed to the girl within Marcus's arms looking quite jealous of her.

"…Lucina?" Chrom asked in mirth.

"Lucina." Robin nodded as said baby babbled happily within Marcus's arms. "She's been causing no end of distress for me." She nearly hissed.

Chrom chuckled at that. "Okay Robin, what did she do this time to you?" He asked in amusement as Marcus seemingly grinned at his wife as she looked livid with Chrom.

"What did she do? The better question is what she didn't do." Robin said in annoyance. "Ever since me and Marcus got married, we had a pretty good marriage but ever since Lucina's favorite nanny got sick, Marcus has been caring for her, leaving me with little time to spend with my husband!" Robin nearly shouted again.

Now at that both Chrom and Marcus chuckled at her reaction though Chrom's amusement was louder than Marcus's in this instant. 'Jealousy, pure and simple.' Chrom thought calmly. Though he really can't blame her, ever since Marcus was declared Lucina's Godfather, Marcus went out of his way to make sure that Lucina was cared for perfectly.

"Robin, you know that Lucina is an infant and needs more care which is why Marcus spends time with her." Chrom explained calmly.

"And it's not as if I mind in all honesty." Marcus admitted. "It's actually kind of a strange feeling to be holding life in your hands at such a young and vulnerable stage right now." He added as he trailed off in thought as Robin narrowed her eyes at Marcus at his comments.

"But that's not the point!" Robin snapped. "The point is Marcus should be paying more attention to me then you should be paying attention to Lucina. You should be leaving her with nannies who know what they're doing instead of dumping her on Marcus all the time."

Marcus could see how frustrated Robin looked with Lucina and simply sighed and walked over to Chrom and handed Lucina to him as he then walked over to Robin and clamped his hands on her shoulder shaking her out of her annoyance.

"In all honesty Robin, I can understand where you're coming from but caring for the next generation is the responsibility of us adults Robin." Marcus admitted and then pointed out.

Robin looked down and just pouted at her husband. "But it's not fair." She whined. "You're my husband and therefore by that rule I'm supposed to occupy most of your time." She said with a sad puppy eye look on her face.

Marcus simply smiled back at her. "How about this Robin? To make up for the time we could have spent together but missed, we spend tonight on a special dinner just between the both of us, with no strings attached or anything work related bothering us, okay?" Marcus offered.

At that Robin started to calm down and smile back at him. "I would like that." She said as Marcus pulled her in for a quick kiss then separated to look at Chrom who had a look of happiness on his face as he chuckled a bit.

"I swear you two will make fine parents one day yourselves." He said as Marcus and Robin smiled at that.

"Thanks, Chrom, now then shall we get back to work now?" he asked as everyone nodded." Good." He said as he soon took back Lucina. "We should try to finish our work for today then and enjoy the rest of it." He said as both Chrom and Robin nodded only for a Pegasus Knight to suddenly enter the room.

"Prince Chrom, Grandmaster Robin, Spymaster Marcus." The woman panted out for a bit as though she was running. "Exalt Emmeryn has emergency news that she wants all of you to hear and report to her office now." She reported to the trio.

Marcus sighed at that. "Guess we have to postpone that dinner eh?" Marcus stated as Robin looked absolutely annoyed at having her chance to have a special evening with Marcus interrupted.

"Let's just get to Emmeryn before anything else okay." Chrom offered calmly but on the inside, was rather nervous as Robin could get pretty nasty when annoyed. He still hadn't forgotten about the naked poster incident that Marcus convinced Frederick to do a while back. 'No Chrom, don't think about it, just repress it and you will be good.' He thought to himself.

Robin was silent for a moment before she sighed. "All right then, let's go now." She said as Marcus and Chrom followed her silently to Emmeryn's office.

* * *

"So, Khan Flavia is calling out for us? Is that correct?" Marcus asked as Emmeryn nodded in response.

"Indeed Marcus, we have received word that trouble is brewing near their shores and it is something that Flavia believes may be something to worry about." Emmeryn replied.

Marcus looked down in contemplation for a moment before he raised his head with a concerned look on his face. "Emmeryn, do you think that it's them?" Marcus asked in worry as those standing in the room now looked uneasy now.

Emmeryn closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. "If the flags were anything to go by, Flavia believes that the Emperor's forces have started invading now." She replied as the occupants in the room looked nervous now.

"Damn." Marcus sighed out. "I had hoped we had more time to prepare for the invasion but beggars can't be choosers at this point." He said with exasperation.

"Indeed Spymaster." Philia said with a grim look on her face. "I have no doubt that this will be perhaps the greatest challenge that we may face yet."

"With that said and done, what is it that you wish for us to do now Emm?" Chrom asked cutting straight to the heart of the matter for why all of them were here.

Emmeryn nodded. "Chrom, I wish for you to gather and lead the Shepherds once more and meet up with the Khans at their territory and learn exactly what it is we are facing and prepare for war." She said gravely that everyone couldn't help but feel a tingle down their spines at that.

Everyone bowed at that. "As you wish Exalt Emmeryn." Fredrick said. "We shall start leaving as soon as possible." He replied as everyone nodded and soon left to get ready for the long trip ahead.

* * *

It took some time to gather everyone up for their road trip and prep the supplies they needed as well. But as soon as they finished doing so, they left as quickly as they could and managed to reach Regna Ferox rather quickly and managed to bypass Raimi and her guards to meet up with Flavia and Basilio at Flavia's territory.

As soon as the Shepherds arrived at Flavia's castle, the Khan in question was already there with Basilio in tow and three familiar faces that the Shepherds haven't seen in a long while.

"Virion, Panne, Nowi!" Robin chirped as the trio of Shepherds waved to them with a good nature smile on their faces or excitement in Nowi's case. "It's so good to see all of you." She said as Nowi raced past her to reunite with Donnel as the simple farm boy and Manakete had wonderful reunion now.

"It's good to see all of you as well." Nowi chirped as she laughed joyfully as she was being swung around by Donnel.

"Well now." Flavia spoke up with a smirk. "You lot a certainly a sight for sore eyes." She commented. "Especially when your only companion is the oaf right here." She said pointing to Basilio.

Basilio hardly looked offended when she said that and just laughed in amusement. "Suck it woman, you know that I'm the only one in Regna Ferox you can depend on to actually make a difference." He said before his expression turned grave. "So, I'm assuming you got our message then?" he asked.

Chrom nodded. "We heard and we are prepared to fight and ready for the worst." Chrom replied.

"Good." Basilio nodded. "We have reports that the Emperor's Fleet will be approaching in about three days at one of our port villages." He explained. "We already evacuated everyone and set up defenses as best we could but we won't say no to additional support either." He added in.

"That's a good start." Robin nodded. "We should prepare for Calvary forces on the port village as well as prepare to capture any notable high-ranking officers for intel gathering and it would also be ideal if we can capture one of their ships for study and analysis as well." Robin said.

Basilio and Flavia nodded at that. "And we shall try to do that." Flavia stated. "But for now, all of you Shepherds should rest, I know traveling from Ylisse to Regna Ferox is not the easiest of tasks." Flavia said as she looked over the Shepherds and noted that many of them were tired.

"Yes." Chrom sighed. "Some rest will do us all some good, shall we reconvene in the morning then?" He asked as both Khans nodded and Chrom turned back to the Shepherds. "Everyone, rest and recover for today, tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us." He said as everyone nodded and went their separate ways for their own reasons now.

"Thank you Chrom." Robin smiled before throwing an apologetic look at Marcus. "Sorry dear, but I need to study tactics for when the navy finally invades." She apologized.

"It's okay." Marcus said with a smile. "I need to bring Raptor in for his rest anyways." He replied as Raptor cooed at him with joy. "I will be sure to bring him in for rest and let you do what you need to do till we meet up later tonight." He replied.

Robin nodded. "See you later then." She said as she walked away to the library that Regna Ferox had here.

"Well Raptor, looks like it's just you and me for now." Marcus replied as Raptor roared at him in response. Before Marcus decided to head towards the Regna Ferox training field to see if there was anything that he can do to practice or train himself up a bit more.

Like dodging, Marcus was used to taking whatever damage he normally could take and just walk right through it. Turns out that's a pretty bad idea with magic in mind for him, as Miriel later discovered and explained to him. Marcus had absolute no affinity for magic and had possibly the worst magic resistance she had ever seen in anyone and that was including the villagers.

While that really sucked in Marcus's opinion, it was something he accepted completely and calmly. Not like he ever done magic ever in his life unless you count all the times in which he should have died but did not. Miriel later theorized that because Marcus was born and raised in a world with no such thing as magic, it would be the main reason as to why he couldn't use it or why he had an exceptionally weak resistance towards magic compared to the others.

But shaking his head out of his thoughts he did not notice that there was another Wyvern following him till said Wyvern screeched at him. Marcus blinked as he turned around to see another Wyvern staring at him and Raptor.

Raptor screeched back at said Wyvern, said Wyvern screeched in response. The two Wyverns kept screeching at each other till they stopped and the new Wyvern turned to Marcus…and screeched at him.

Marcus decided to wing it. "So, what are you doing here?" He asked.

The Wyvern screeched at him and nudged its head to Raptor.

"Raptor? Did he do something to you or what?"

The Wyvern shook its head and screeched at Marcus as it looked somewhat excited.

"So, he didn't do anything to you, thought as much so who do you belong to? Most animal companions usually have someone with them."

The Wyvern shook its body to show a saddle on its back and screeched at him.

"So, your companion is also a Rider eh? Just out of curiosity you a guy or a gal? Screech once for male and screech twice for female."

The Wyvern screeched at him two times now.

"Female eh? Well isn't this exciting Raptor? Now you finally met a lady Wyvern."

Raptor screeched happily as he and the other Wyvern sniffed at each other for a bit before screeching again.

"Interesting, so I wonder you hungry? Cause I got a few jerky pieces here, you want some?"

The female Wyvern nodded its head rapidly.

"Okay then, here you go." Marcus replied as he pulled out the bear jerky and tossed it into the air as the female Wyvern jumped up and gobbled it all up before screeching at him in delight.

Raptor approved of it as he cooed in Marcus's direction as he chuckled at Raptor's reaction.

"So yeah me and my companion here were going to walk to the roost where he should be staying for the night, so want to follow?" Marcus asked.

The female Wyvern screeched at him as she nodded her head up and down.

Marcus shrugged. "Suit yourself." He commented as he walked with Raptor and an unknown Wyvern following him now. 'I should be questioning the fact that I just talked with a Wyvern, but for the life of me I really just don't care.' Marcus thought in his head as he saw the roost and there was someone else there already.

It was a beautiful woman with rose colored hair and shiny Rider's armor but when Marcus took a closer look, he noticed that the back of the woman was laid bare for all to see. She also had some kind of headband on her with decorations on the sides. She also carried a large axe as well.

It was after Marcus finished studying the woman that she turned around to see him and the two Wyverns and she actually smiled at the female Wyvern. "Ah, Minerva!" She said happily. "I was wondering where you were." She added in as the now identified "Minerva" screeched happily at her. Then she turned her attention to Marcus and Raptor. "Ah I have been rather rude." She said in self-admonishment. "Greetings, I am Cherche." She said as she bowed a bit to him.

Marcus simply bowed a bit back to her. "Nice to meet you." Marcus greeted. "I'm Marcus and this big boy here is Raptor." He introduced him as Raptor screeched back at her in greetings.

Cherche looked rather intrigued at Raptor. "Oh my." She said. "It's rather rare to see a Wyvern around here." She commented as she took a look around Raptor and nodded approvingly. "And he's well taken care of too." She complimented.

Marcus laughed a bit at that. "Of course, what kind of scum would I be if I didn't do my best to take care of one my friends?" He asked as Raptor cooed and rubbed his head into Marcus's hands and purring a bit at the wonderful scratching that he gave him.

Cherche smiled as she raised her hand as she giggled a bit at Raptor's reaction. "I must admit I have never seen the same amount of devotion that Raptor has for you unless it was my darling Minerva." She said as Minerva screeched proudly at that.

"What can I say?" Marcus said with a smile as he leaned on Raptor. "Me and Raptor have been through a lot in the last two years or so." He explained as Cherche looked surprised at that as she looked at him with blinking eyes. "Something the matter?" Marcus asked.

"Ah." Cherche snapped out of her daze. "My apologies but from my experience bonds between man and animal usually take much longer, especially if said animal was an untamed being." She explained before she saw the closed eyes of small pain on Marcus's face. "Is there something the matter?" She asked in concern.

Marcus sighed sadly. "Raptor wasn't my companion to begin with." He said as Cherche blinked her eyes. "He originally belonged to someone else but…he passed away on the eve of the Second Ylissean-Plegian War." Marcus said solemnly.

"Oh my." Cherche gasped. "I apologize for my presumptuous questions, he must have been a good companion." She apologized.

"Actually." Marcus started off as he rubbed his head. "We only knew him for one meeting and he was technically on the enemy side." Marcus explained as Cherche looked befuddled.

"Wait you mean to say that he was on the enemy side and…" Cherche trailed off as her eyes widened in recognition of who Marcus is. "You're Marcus! The Spymaster of Ylisse and one of the War Heroes of the Second Ylissean-Plegian War." She breathed out.

Marcus chuckled at bit at that. "I suppose it was stupidly optimistic of me to think that my rep is not very well known." He sighed as Cherche shook her head quickly.

"Oh goodness no, the only reason why I was able to figure it was you because I served under Virion as his subordinate." She explained to Marcus, who was interested in that.

"Wait you served under Virion and didn't quit on him?" Marcus asked in befuddlement.

Cherche giggled again. "Yes, I can understand your confusion considering how Virion…acts at time but I have always been there to rein him in." Cherche explained.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at that as he whistled. "That's actually pretty impressive considering how…flighty he acts at time." Marcus pointed out as Cherche offered a teasing smile at Marcus.

"Oh, it's much easier than you think, all it really requires is being able to understand his weak points and then utterly stomping on it and pulling him back to ground level so he doesn't lose his head." Cherche explained.

Marcus looked interested in that as he smirked a bit. "Now that will certainly be an interesting sight to see when you actually do that." He commented.

Cherche just smiled brightly at him. "Then I hope I live up to your expectations then Marcus." Cherche replied.

"Looking forward to it." Marcus commented before a thought struck him. "Since Virion brought you along, then I assume that he told you about the group he joined during his time here in Ylisse correct?" Marcus asked as Cherche nodded.

"Indeed, Virion has enlightened me to the delightful experiences that he has shared with the Shepherds." Cherche said. "He went on about each and every last Shepherd that he talked and interacted with during his time among you and spoke of you rather highly." She explained.

"Really?" Marcus noted. "I thought he would have talked of Chrom or Robin in much higher regard." He stated. "Considering that Chrom is an exceptional warrior and Robin is the tactician that lead our victories in battle."

"Oh, he did talk about them in high regard." Cherche assured. "But he believed that out of the three of you were the most exceptional." Cherche said before she whispered. "And he also told me of your true origins as well." She added in.

At that Marcus froze when she mentioned that and blinked for a few moments before he slowly turned his full attention on Cherche with a frown on his face. "He told you about that bit?" Marcus said looking displeased about it.

"Marcus, I assure you." Cherche said as she raised her arms in a calming gesture. "He told me that because he had no ulterior intentions for you." Cherche said. "If anything, it was to reassure of me the trust that he had in both you and me." She said.

Marcus was silent for a bit as he worked to deal and understand that bit of knowledge before he sighed and rubbed his face a bit. "When I see that floppy fool again, I'm going to punch him in the face for revealing one of my secrets without my permission." He muttered.

"I ask that you don't hurt him too badly, because as much as it pains me to say this we do need all the help we can get against Walhart and Lord Virion does know how to fight." Cherche added in.

"Right." Marcus nodded at that. "Speaking of which, you were there and saw Walhart's men in combat for yourself possibly, is that right?" Marcus questioned as Cherche nodded in response to his question.

"Indeed, I have Marcus. I have seen just how vicious and ruthless the warriors of the Conqueror can be in battle." Cherche said with a grave look on her face. "It is something that I do not look forward to seeing when we take on his army directly again."

"We've been raising an army the best we could for the past two years Cherche." Marcus consoled her as he patted her on the shoulder. "We're not going to make it easy for the Emperor and his men to just conquer Ylisse and her allies. No. At the very least we're going to give them a bloody nose for them to remember us by."

Cherche looked to Marcus and for a moment Marcus could see the look of desperation on her face. The despair she had when she lost her homeland, the sorrow she felt when she saw her homeland turned into a slave state, the anger she had against the Empire, and the small sliver of hope she had when she heard Marcus said to her.

"I am a realist Marcus." Cherche stated as she closed her eyes. "I do not know if we can truly drive off the empire but when I hear to stories of what the Shepherds accomplished in the Second Ylissean-Plegian War. It gave me hope." She said softly. "Hope that with your aid we can finally defeat Walhart and reclaim our home without fear of tyrants and conquerors." She said as she opened her eyes at Marcus. "Can you promise me that my home can be liberated?" She asked.

"…" Marcus was silent for a moment as that was an incredibly high promise to extract from him. When he made a promise, he kept it. 'Never make a promise one can't keep' is what Joshua and Ulysses said to him all the time when he was being mentored by them in their own tribal wisdom.

 _"_ _Words have power, use it well Courier Six."_

"I'm afraid I can't keep such a grandiose promise Cherche." Marcus said finally as Cherche looked down a bit. "But what I can promise you is that I will do everything within my power to see that your homeland is free from Walhart's tyranny." He added in as Cherche blinked her eyes a bit. "Is that enough for you?" He asked.

Cherche was silent for a moment before she started laughing warmly at him. "You give a reasonable promise, not a foolish grandiose promise that men recklessly make and get themselves killed over." She said demurely. "You are smarter than most men and your promise is more than I could ever ask for Marcus."

"Don't make a promise you can't keep unless you know you can keep it." Marcus stated. "Words from wise mentors." He added in. "I look forward to fighting alongside you in the war to come." Marcus said as he offered his hand to Cherche as she gladly took his and shook on it.

"I do look forward to seeing you in action after hearing much of Virion's tales of you battle prowess." Cherche said as she smiled at him.

"Indeed." Marcus said as he looked out to see that it was starting to get dark now. "Seems like it's getting late, I'm going to sleep for the night, good night Cherche." Marcus said as he started to walk away as he waved her away.

"Good night to you as well Marcus." Cherche replied in kind before she had a small smile on her face and sighed. "Such a shame he's already taken, I would not have mind him as a partner to spend the rest of my days with." She said as she walked to her own room now.

* * *

"Marcus!" Robin chirped as soon as Marcus got into their room and she jumped up from her chair and ran up to hug him as Marcus did the same in return. "How's my favorite man doing tonight?" Robin cooed at him happily.

"Doing pretty well." Marcus said as he took off his duster coat and switched out of his armor for more comfortable clothing. "Just took Raptor to the roost for him to rest, met one of Virion's retainers by the name of Cherche who said she would be joining us in the fight. Met her nice Wyvern Minerva and she and Raptor seem to hit it off from what I can tell." Marcus said.

Robin raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh Cherche!" She suddenly said as she bumped her fist against her hand. "Virion mentioned that she came with him, Panne, and Nowi. He said she's a Wyvern Rider and a really good fighter as well." She reminded herself. "So, what's your opinion about her?" Robin then asked as Marcus rubbed his chin in contemplation over what Cherche's like.

"Well from what I can tell is that she's confident in herself." Marcus started off. "She walks proudly and calmly like what Kellam and Lon'qu does when they walk as well." He commented as Robin raised an eyebrow at that. While most people wouldn't know what Marcus meant by that, her being his wife for about a half year or so meant she knew what he meant by that. Marcus explained to her that the way people walks can tell a lot about that person. By comparing her to Kellam and Lon'qu Marcus was saying that Cherche was a confident and strong warrior.

"I see." Robin muttered to herself as she made a mental note on Cherche. "Is there anything else that you can tell me about her?" Robin asked.

"Well she does have special bond with Minerva and she can understand her better than I can do with Raptor at times." Marcus added in as Robin was a bit surprised that there was someone else who could communicate with animals so well. "She also knows my real history as Virion told her himself. So, I assume that means that she is trustworthy to him." Marcus said as Robin went wide eyed at that. Marcus hold his real history to be something important to him. The more and more he talked to her about his past, the more and more her heart went out to Marcus for dealing with what he had to deal with back home. The fact that he was okay with Cherche knowing his past is something of a huge deal to him.

"I see. But do you think that she can be trusted to keep that knowledge to herself?" Robin asked in worry, while Virion may be okay with telling Cherche about Marcus. She was his wife and if she posed a threat to him then she will put her down regardless of what Virion might say.

"She seems like an okay sort, she does have a desire to see her homeland liberated from Walhart and his empire, but then again what person wouldn't want to see their homeland liberated from an oppressor?" Marcus said and the pointed out to Robin. "But in all honesty, I think she's an okay sort." Marcus finished off.

Robin hummed at that. "Well we'll just wait and see for now." She replied. "While I am displeased with the fact that Virion disclosed your past to someone you never really know or trust. The fact that you told me she's a good sort is acceptable for now."

"We'll just have to wait and see for now." Marcus replied as he suddenly lifted Robin up in the air with his arms causing her squeal a bit as he looked at her with a sly look on his face. "But for now, I have to take care of my wonderful wife for tonight." He said.

Robin in return gave a sultry look to Marcus. "And I look forward to your ministrations for the night." She purred as Marcus dropped her on the bed and for the rest of the night they did what a husband and wife do in their own private time.


	24. Chapter 17

In preparation for the oncoming invasion by the Valmese Fleet, every warrior in Regna Ferox gathered up near the coastal side and all civilians were evacuated and every town was holding a considerable number of warriors with a considerable number of defenses. Soon the Valmese Fleet approached with a fleet of boats heading towards their docks. The moment that they came in range of the defenders. The warriors of Regna Ferox retaliated with magic, rocks, and arrows.

A considerable number of Valmese soldiers were killed during the retaliation as even more soldiers were killed when their ships were burning or destroyed by the defenders. Nevertheless, there was still enough of them for them to reach land and charge for the villages to destroy the defenses to set up a landing point for more of their soldiers.

But as they charged recklessly for the defenders, they failed to take into account for the traps and defenses that the defenders already set up. As they charged, a number of cavalry soldiers landed into a booby-trapped hole with spikes at the end, thus impaling them or stabbing them to cause them immense pain. Even more soldiers were dealing with sudden pikes that rose up as they ran and they were unable to stop themselves from impaling themselves on the pikes. Some soldiers tripped magic traps that set them ablaze or electrocuted them to a crisp.

And the situation only got even worse for them as reinforcement came in the form of the Shepherds, who were not assigned to deal with any one town or village but were kept as a mobile force to shift around to the defenses that needed help. Because the Valmese soldiers had an incredibly difficult time dealing with the Defenders of Regna Ferox, they were caught completely off guard when Raptor and Minerva roared at them and spat fireballs, incinerating a few soldiers.

Then suddenly Raptor's Rider fell from the Wyvern and landed in a perfect three-point landing in front of the Valmese. None of the Valmese moved as silence overtook them as the Rider who landed slowly got up and all of the Valmese Soldier's breaths quickened when they saw the helmet of the Rider. It was an armored man with a duster covering the majority of his body, with a strange mask and helmet with one eye glowing red and the other eye glowing green. And in his hands, were two unique Killing Edges made of unique material both pointed at the ground.

"The Demon of Ylisse!" One mas whispered in fear.

"The Exalt's Trashman!" Another spoke out in worry.

"The Unknown Wildcard!" Another warrior whimpered.

"The Messenger of Death!" Another gasped as he tightened the grip on his blade.

"Hollow Man!" Another whispered.

"Wait, you mean like the poem?" One of them asked suddenly.

"It was named after him!" He shouted back to the questioner.

"Well, well, well." Marcus soon spoke up as he walked up to them. "Not even a day in and you're already taking massive losses like a bunch of amateur Raiders." Marcus said in amusement. "I suppose I overestimated you Valmese if you're dying so easily." He commented.

That angered the Valmese who forgot their fear at the audacity of Marcus insulting their competence as warriors and as an army. Then one swordsman ran ahead of the group screaming at Marcus with his sword raised high to chop him down.

"I will show you what for!" He yelled as he got closer to Marcus and swung his sword down only to see that he had already dodged to the left of him and then with a perfect swing of his blade, bisected from the waist up. As the soldier fell to the ground with his blood quickly staining the dirt and snow.

The Valmese went bug eyed at how easily Marcus bisected a soldier in one swing and all of them unconsciously took a step back. While Marcus flickered his sword free of the blood and brought both of them up in a X cross formation and he smirked underneath his helmet. "I suppose playtime's over now." He stated as he rushed towards the Valmese with the intent to cut them down.

In response the Valmese rushed to confront him head on as Marcus clashed blades with the first Valmese Soldier then spun around him as he slashed off his head with his second blade. Then he brought up his first blade behind him as a soldier tried to cut his back with an axe. Marcus in response, smashed his foot into his kneecap, all but shattering it and as the axe man screamed in pain. He brought down his blade to bisect his head in half.

Another warrior tried to bring stab Marcus with his spear but Marcus enough that the spear's blade simply slid off his armor and then brought down his swords to cut him down. Marcus then took a breath into himself and charged at the remaining soldiers as the Shepherds went about their own business in culling down the Valmese with their own strength and prowess.

Marcus focused on his own battles and clashed blades with the commander of the Valmese force who was glaring at him furiously. "Damn you!" He seethed venomously. "How dare you stand in the way of his glorious majesty Walhart!" He yelled as Marcus pushed him back and clashed blades with him. "What gives you the right to reject our God-Emperor who has the right to rule this world?!" He demanded.

"It's rather simple." Marcus replied as he headbutted the Commander, sending him reeling away. "Your Emperor is a piece of shit." He replied as he kneed him in the cheeks before blocking attacks from more Valmese and then cutting them down.

"You dare insult our Emperor?!" The Commander shouted sounding furious and murderous. "Die!" He screamed as he charged at Marcus only for Marcus to put up both his blades to block his strike and then using the famed technique that made him famous in the Regna Ferox Tournament. Using his immense strength, he shattered the blade causing the Commander to go into shock and then Marcus swung both his blades at him and chopped up his head.

"And pop goes the weasel." Marcus sang cheerfully as he looked around to see that the Shepherds and the Khan's warriors were mopping up the rest of the Valmese soldiers without much trouble. He quickly took note of how Cherche used her smaller axes to throw at soldiers from above while taking out her larger axe to chop off the head of anyone she gets close to whenever Minerva brings her down closer to the ground to cause havoc.

He also noted, much to his pride, that Raptor was preforming perfectly without him on his leashes causing havoc as wherever he flew by roaring loudly enough to cause Valmese soldiers to cringe and cover their ears. To blasting fireballs at enemies, and even providing emergency landings as he did when he crash landed onto two elite looking Knights that Chrom was facing by himself and crushed them underneath his immense weight and sudden speed, much to Chrom's obvious surprise but he clearly welcomed it.

"Good boy Raptor." Marcus praised as he ran up to assist Chrom as he cut down a swordsman behind Chrom and clashed blades with him as Chrom went on instincts to defend himself. "Nice to see you still being alert and reactive as always." Marcus commented.

"Marcus?!" Chrom said in surprise. "I apologize for attacking you!" Chrom quickly said to him as Marcus waved it off like it was nothing to him.

"Nah, don't worry man, you were in fighting so I can't blame you." Marcus said as he looked around him to see that the Valmese warriors were already being cleaned up by the rest of the Shepherds and the Regna Ferox defenders. "Think we can get anything out of that ship of theirs?" Marcus asked as he pointed to the Valmese ship that was being anchored in front of them, albeit heavily damaged.

"Maybe." Chrom shrugged at that. "Do you really think they have anything that we can use?" Chrom asked curiously as he turned to Marcus.

"You never know what you can find when you're searching those kinds of places." Marcus stated. "Remember how I got into the who Sierra Madre Incident and my Big Mountain Adventures?" Marcus reminded him as Chrom flinched at that bit. Yeah, those two nightmarish stories took more years off his life than Chrom would ever be comfortable admitting to anyone.

"Right so who's going to head there?" Chrom asked as Marcus pointed to a direction and saw that Cordelia and her mount was heading towards the ship alongside Robin riding Raptor heading towards the ship as well. "Oh." Was all Chrom could say at the point.

"Yep." Marcus said as he nodded his head. "With Robin and Cordelia's attention to details chances are they will find something in that ship." Marcus said with upmost confidence. "The question is whether or not we will find anything that can actually help us in this war." Marcus added in.

Chrom nodded at that. "That's true, so what now Marcus?" Chrom questioned him.

"Well now that we finished our fights and everyone else is finished with theirs, we should get into contact with Flavia, Basilio, Emmeryn to discuss our next course of action." Marcus suggested.

"That would make sense." Chrom said in agreement. "Though the question is how do we get Emmeryn to be involved in our talks?" Chrom asked then.

"I would ask Miriel about that." Marcus replied. "I believe she and her group of mages were working on a magical means of long distance communication during the two years of peace we had." Marcus pointed out. "And last I heard it was already approved and that Emmeryn had one in her office already." Marcus added in as well.

"…Oh. Well bring Miriel and her long communication or what not for when we meet up with Flavia and Basilio again." Chrom requested as Marcus nodded at that.

"Got it Boss Man." Marcus replied as he went off to find Miriel and hope that she had the damn thing with her.

* * *

Eventually Marcus did find Miriel and she did bring her Long-Distance Communication Tome or LDCT for short. It took some time for the group to set it up but eventually they were able to successfully get it up and running and Emmeryn was soon in on the discussion with the Khans as well as all high-ranking Shepherds.

"So, what you mean to say from the reports that you were able to scavenge from the ships is that the force we face was a small scouting force and they have about hundreds more of those ships coming for us!?" Flavia nearly shouted in worry.

"From the reports we gathered, yes that is the situation we're finding ourselves in." Robin reported with a grim look on her face. "And you know how I don't like our odds against them and they're bringing much more men and other gear that it will be incredibly difficult to defeat them on the defensive." Robin added in.

"Well that's just fantastic." Basilio said sarcastically. "Not only did we managed to gauge just how tough the Valmese were in battle. While I did not manage to lose a lot of my soldiers, they were still very dangerous to fight and if it wasn't for the fact there were more of my men than there were of theirs we would have been facing some serious trouble."

"And there's also the fact that there's more warriors where Walhart's from." Emmeryn added in worry. "Can we really win like this?" She questioned. "The odds are very much against us in this war."

"I would stop thinking like that if I were you." Marcus spoke up as everyone turned to him. "Doubt is the first step to failure, if you doubt yourself now then you will never achieve victory." Marcus stated.

"But the odds are against us Marcus." Chrom protested. "How are we supposed to win a war against superior numbers and experienced warriors?"

"It's simple, we have to be smarter than them, stronger than them, and tougher than them." Marcus replied. "Sure, it may be a long road ahead but nobody said that this war was going to be easy now did they?" He questioned as he looked at everyone.

"You're right." Robin spoke up. "We always had the odds against us, didn't we?" She reminded to everyone as they nodded. "And we came out the winners all the time, now didn't we?" She said as everyone nodded. "So, what's one more challenge to the list we have to do?" She said with a smile.

Everyone was speechless for a moment till Basilio started laughing loudly as he could have, followed by Flavia who was also laughing as well as she tried to keep herself from falling over.

"Girl that was both naïve and inspirational." Basilio snorted as he wiped some tears from his remaining eye. "Mostly on the naïve part but I get what you mean, better to go down trying than never trying at all as they say." Basilio stated.

"Aye." Flavia nodded. "Can't get a loser mindset before we actually start the war, but what do you think we need to do to win though?" She asked as she reminded everyone of the main point of why there were meeting again in the first place.

"Do you think we should go after the man that leads the army himself?" Emmeryn suggested. "If we can deal with the leader then surely the army he built up won't last and splinter now into their own warring factions." Emmeryn offered up.

Everyone hummed in thought about that. "That might be the solution that might be most applicable in our situation." Marcus admitted as everyone turned to him for explanation. "Hear me out everyone, Walhart is regarded as a God King of sorts and it only through his undefeated winning streak that keeps people from moving against him openly." Marcus explained.

"And how does that help with us trying to stop his massive army?" Chrom asked as Robin picked up on Marcus's train of thought.

"He means to say that if the people believe that Walhart is not as undefeatable as he seems than the people will have the courage to not only rally against him but also to defect from his army." Robin explained as she turned to Marcus. "In other words, without Walhart to keep them in line then the army he built won't be stable and fracture apart." She added in.

"…That's crazy." Basilio rumbled in…approval? "It's absolutely crazy that it could actually work for us." He said to the group.

"I like that idea as well." Flavia added in agreement. "So, the important question is where do we go from here?" She asked the group.

"I believe that in order for us to defeat the Conqueror, we need to hit him where it hurts the most on his territory." Robin suggested. "He won't see it coming, and we would be undermining his rule just by being on his territory." She stated.

"Just one thing." Flavia spoke up. "Your idea is to basically attack Walhart in his homeland with our combined armies, right?" She asked for clarification as Robin nodded. "Well sorry to burst your bubble because in case you haven't noticed we don't have that much of a navy and Ylisse doesn't have that much of a navy either." Flavia pointed out.

Robin blinked and looked to the Exalt as Emmeryn calmly nodded. "So that means we don't have the means to accomplish our mission then." Robin muttered.

"Even if we also had enough ships to move all of our soldiers." Marcus spoke up. "We also have to take into account the amount of supplies we would have to move in order to sustain our soldiers as well, especially water unless you guys know a way to convert salt water into drinking water." Marcus also pointed out.

"The boy has a point." Basilio said gruffly. "It could take weeks or even months to reach Valm and we need to make sure our men are all fed and watered otherwise we won't have that much of an army to fight Walhart with."

"So, the question is." Marcus spoke up.

"Where do we get the ships needed to move that many warriors and the amount of supplies we need?" Robin finished.

Everyone went silent at that until Emmeryn spoke up. "I believe I may have a suggestion though it is not one everyone will find enjoyable." She said calmly as everyone turned to her.

"Well you might as well get it out Exalt, because we don't have that many options." Flavia gestured to her.

Emmeryn was silent for a moment till she took a deep breath and spoke. "I believe we should go to Plegia to aid us in our war against Walhart." She said seriously as everyone at the meeting blinked and went wide eyed for different reasons.

"Emm! You cannot be seriously thinking about that!" Chrom shouted in protest as he was not big on going to the Plegians for any kind of help as he was not sure if they were trustworthy or not.

"So, it looks like we're going have to get involved with those dessert folks after all." Basilio hummed in thought as he was not against using Plegia for his goals, but he was also wonder what kind of catch there will be.

"Damn, I'm not really big on going to them for help not after the mess they caused about two years back." Flavia scowled as she too was not a big fan of Plegia like Chrom was.

"I have not considered that possibility but considering how much money Gangrel saved during his reign as King of Plegia I wonder how much did he have for the military for them to use as well?" Robin hummed in thought as she thought about the possibilities that may happen with Plegian Forces among them.

"Now the real question is will Plegia play ball and bet in their own chips to the table to play against House or in this case Walhart." Marcus muttered to himself.

Seeing the looks on most of their faces Chrom could only sigh. "All right then, let's go to Plegia and see if they're willing to help fund our campaign against Walhart and his army of conquerors." Chrom said with reluctance. "I bet you that they won't do it or consider it at all." He said under his breath.

* * *

"Of course, I will be willing to help fund your military campaign!" Mustafa said with a grin as he looked at the surprised looks of everyone that standing before him, save for Marcus as he was still wearing his helmet.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say you're willing to help fund out military campaign against Walhart without any catch whatsoever?" Chrom said and asked slowly as he tried to comprehend what Mustafa just said.

The Shepherds were the ones to head over to Plegia to convince Mustafa to help fund their military expedition against Walhart while both Khans stayed back in their territory to start getting ready for the big military campaign. Surprisingly, Mustafa was rather receptive to them and when the Shepherds reached Plegia, the doom and gloom feeling that was common when Gangrel lead them was no longer there at all. In fact, it felt like the nation and the populace itself has gotten brighter as people before them were now leading normal lives like any other citizen would.

Then they were soon escorted by members of the Royal Guard, that everyone recognized as being part of Mustafa's army when they were escaping from Plegia with the Exalt in tow. As it turns out in due part to Marcus's espionage against Gangrel's administration. Mustafa was able to gather a huge number of supporters that broke away from Gangrel's rule and when Gangrel was killed, Mustafa was the one with the biggest influence and the one that many people put their trust in so he was elected leader. Mustafa as the King of Plegia turned out to be pretty decent at his job and he became popular with the populace of Plegia.

Also, unknown to all but his family, Mustafa holds a great deal of respect for the Shepherds and feels as though he owes Robin a life debt. So, when he learned that there was an army coming to invade, he had secretly made preparations to get the entirety of the Plegian Navy ready to set sail. It was only thanks to the Shepherds that he still lives and happily with his wife and child and he would be damned if he couldn't pay back the debt that was owed to them.

"Of Course!" Mustafa said to the prince. "I have taken into account into what you said and explained about the threat that Walhart poses and if Walhart is to ever reach this continent, then all of our nations will be under threat from his fleets. That is why I am offering to give you the fleet and send a contingent of my own warriors to aid you in this campaign as well." Mustafa said to the surprise of the Shepherds.

"Mustafa…" Robin said in shock as Mustafa turned his attention to Robin and smiled gratefully.

"Do you really think I would forget the kindness you showed me at our duel so long ago, Lady Robin?" Mustafa questioned. "It was only because of your kindness that I lived past my duel and was able to defect from Gangrel's army and be reunited with my family once more." Mustafa said solemnly. "Though you may see it as a random act of kindness I owe you a life debt for sparing me when you had me dead to rights." Mustafa explained.

Robin's eyes flashed in remembrance to that day she had dueled Mustafa with all her might and barely won against him and then she spared him because it was not right to take the life of a man who was simply following his duty. "I can't believe you remember that day and feel like you owe me a debt for that." Robin said softly with a smile.

"Well I do." Mustafa retorted as he motioned for one of his assistants to move to him with a scroll and he opened it up to show to Chrom and the Shepherds. "You will have a fleet of ships for you to accompany on this mission of yours and as reassurance that you won't misuse them, the contingent I have will be there to assist you and one of my own eyes and ears shall be with you." Mustafa stated.

Marcus nodded at that. "That's reasonable, so who is it that's going to be one of your own eyes and ears?" Marcus asked as Mustafa pointed to a corner where there was a flamboyant boy with a permeant smile on his face, white hair, and eyes seemingly closed all the time, accompanied by a crow that was cawing at him with respect. "So…who's he?" Marcus asked.

"This boy here is Henry." Mustafa said as Henry approached them with a wave of his hand. "He's a Dark Mage that specializes in curse and anti-curses as well. He is very good at what he does and he will be very helpful to you as well." Mustafa explained.

Henry laughed. "Oh, come on pops! You know that I'm just in it to spill the blood and guts of my foes and watching them writhe and scream in pain and agony as they lose all their blood and choke out the last remnants of their life." Henry said way too cheerfully that all of the sane and easily freaked out Shepherds save for Chrom, Marcus, and Robin unconsciously took a step back.

"Well he seems…interesting." Chrom commented as Mustafa took a quick moment to cough a bit in embarrassment.

"Henry is what you call a special needs kid, he's okay for the most part. Just a bit too enthusiastic with what he likes to do." Mustafa explained carefully. "Aside from that he is an okay boy for the most part, just a bit…special is all."

Everyone looked to where Henry was and he was amusing himself as he caused some of the Servants to shriek and run away as he resurrected some dead birds and have them peck at them. "Special…yeah." Marcus muttered as Mustafa rubbed his head a bit.

"We'll take him." Chrom spoke up. "So long as he behaves himself." He added in.

Mustafa nodded. "That I can work with." He stated as he whistled to Henry.

"Yeah pops?" Henry giggled as he left the Servants in a state of panic. "You got anything important for me to do? Dissecting Risen corpses? Making the enemies of the State scream in pain? Cursing them to never be able to have children or what?" He asked.

"Henry, these are the Shepherds, the warriors I told you about." Mustafa said carefully. "They are our allies this time around, and I need you to behave yourself around them and aid them in their battles and at the same time report to me over their activities, understood?"

Henry saluted him rather sloppily. "You got it pops! Henry is a good boy and is going to be on his best behavior!" Henry chirped happily before he turned to the Shepherds. "Pleased to meet you all new comrades!" Henry said happily.

Everyone was quiet but they all did wave back to him as Marcus sighed a bit. "This is going to take some time getting used to." He muttered as everyone within earshot could only agree with his statement.

* * *

"Well that was rather productive don't you think?" Chrom asked as he and the Shepherds were heading back to Regna Ferox. "We managed to get more warriors to our cause and we got our ships needed to move our men and supplies to where Walhart is." He said as he faced Robin and Marcus.

Robin nodded at that. "It was quite the amount of luck we had that we were dealing with Mustafa of all people. He's one of the more honest and trustworthy Plegians that we do have relations with." Robin noted as well.

"I think we can also put that luck thanks to you sparing him as well." Marcus added in as Robin smiled.

"That's right, I am wonderful after all." Robin chirped as she, Chrom, and Marcus laughed to themselves unaware that they were being watched by someone hiding in the forests. As the Shepherds made their way back to Regna Ferox but with an additional recruit now. Surprisingly Olivia actually struck up a quick friendship with Henry.

* * *

"…They're here." One of the observers hissed.

"We see that, which of the Shepherds, were we supposed to prioritize killing?" Another Observer spoke up.

"We were to kill the Prince and Princess of the Ylisse Nation and the one known as Marcus. But our liege lord desires us to kill the one known as Marcus first and foremost. He poses the greatest annoyance and threat to our liege lord's plan." An Observer reported.

"Very well, call upon our Master's Blessing and allow them to rampage upon these foolish Shepherds and kill the foes that pose a threat to our Master's Plan." Another Observer spoke up as soon all of them nodded and chanted the summoning ritual to call upon the Risen to serve them.

Soon dark mist started forming on the ground and soon Risen started crawling their way out of the mist and one of them seemingly glared at the Observer before walking away to chase after its True Prey now.

* * *

"We're under attack!" Frederick shouted as he and the Shepherds went to battle with the Risen and as luck would have it the majority of the Shepherds were separated from most of each other with all of them being paired up already because they were married, talking to each other or other such circumstances lead to them fighting together.

"Of all the blasted luck, we get attacked by Risen here and now?" Sully growled as she sent a Risen Swordsman flying away with her spear.

"Now's not the time for words, now's the time for action!" Vaike cackled as he smashed his way through Risen.

"Let's show these Risen what we're made of!" Stahl shouted as he speared a Rise by the chest. "Let's remind them that we haven't gotten complacent in the two years of peace we had."

As the Shepherds were fighting off the ambush from the Risen, the stronger of the lot were heading for three warriors and said warriors were fighting them off with all the might they had with relative ease.

Marcus grunted as he rolled underneath a lightning spell casted by one of the Risen before he made several throwing knives materialize as he threw them straight at the Risen Caster's head causing said Risen to dissipate.

Robin was holding her custom sword in one hand as she was holding the Book of Naga in the other hand as she chanted and blasted the Risen away with fire magic before shocking the remaining Risen with her custom blade and fried them to a crisp.

Chrom was easily cutting his way through all the Risen with his Falchion and his spear as he expertly dual wielded both sword and spear to cull down any Risen that gets in his way with his spear being used to counter any foe that was out of sword's reach and knocking them down. And then finishing them off with his sword to their vital points ending the Risen relatively easy.

"Just where did all these Risen come from?" Chrom wondered as a Risen Assassin observed him and then ran to stab him with its daggers now.

"FATHER NO!" A familiar female voice cried out as Chrom quickly turned around in shock as he saw…Marth cutting down the Assassin with her copy of Falchion before she sighed in relief. Then froze as she slowly turned to face Chrom who looked at her in shock.

"Did you just call me father?" Chrom gasped out.

Marth looked down a bit and blushed before looking back up to Chrom. "May we talk about this somewhere else?" She asked.

Chrom was conflicted, on one hand he should be getting back with the Shepherds and not cause them to worry about his safety. But on the other hand, he was really curious so he decided to roll with it and nodded as he followed her deeper into the woods and soon Marth turned her attention back to him and pulled off her eyepatch and revealed the…Brand of the Exalt in her eye.

"The Brand of the Exalt." Chrom muttered with wide eyes. "Lucina?!" Chrom gasped out loud as Lucina nodded at him.

"Yes, it is I Lucina, from the future father." Lucina said softly before her eyes widened as Chrom suddenly held her in a hug.

"You've become so beautiful Lucina." Chrom said softly. "And I am so sorry that you had to fight as well as you had and come back to this time for whatever reason it may be." He apologized as Lucina started crying and hugged Chrom back.

"Father." Lucina sobbed out as she hugged Chrom back tightly as the two embraced each other in a gentle hug as Chrom did his best to calm down Lucina.

"Hey Chrom, you better have a good reason for the way you're acting now." A familiar voice that sounded unamused spoke up causing Chrom and Lucina to look up to see that it was…Marcus, Robin, and Sumia looking at them.

Marcus looked angered with him, while Robin had a face of actual disgust directed at him, and Sumia looked heartbroken at what she saw.

"Marcus, Robin, Sumia." Chrom muttered as Lucina stayed silent as she paid attention to Marcus in particular. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Chrom's question seemed to anger Marcus even more if the increasing glare he saw on his face meant anything. "What am I doing here?" he asked calmly. "I'll tell you what I'm doing here, I came here after I saw Sumia sobbing for no reason only to see that you were hugging Marth rather intimately." He stated. "Now think of the implications of what you've done and think very carefully about what you're going to say before I punch your face out." Marcus warned.

Chrom could tell that Marcus was not joking and as he ran through what Marcus said in his head, his eye bugged out at the implication that Marcus was telling him and now he was freaking out. "W-w-w-wait Marcus, it's not what it seems like!? Chrom stammered out.

"Strike one." Marcus whispered to himself.

"In fact, Marcus there's actually a very good reason for why I did what I did." Chrom went on with a nervous look on his face.

"Strike two." Marcus intoned looking at him with a neutral but serious look.

Chrom decided to be blunt so his face wouldn't be punched in by Marcus. "She's Lucina from the future!" He said quickly as Marcus, Robin, and Sumia blinked at what he said before turning to face Lucina herself.

Robin and Sumia got closer and noticed that she wasn't wearing the eyepatch that she wore when she assisted them in the prevention of the Assassination of Emmeryn. Soon they could see the Brand of the Exalt on her eye.

"Oh, my goodness." Robin gasped out. "You really are Lucina." She stated as Lucina smiled kindly at her and nodded.

"My baby girl." Sumia muttered. "All grown up and so beautiful." She teared up again but unlike the previous time where it was tears of sorrow because of the implication that Chrom was cheating on her. It was tears of joy of seeing her beautiful baby girl all grown up.

"Mother." Lucina said softly as she embraced her as said mother sobbed joyfully at seeing her daughter. "I'm sorry mother but there is much that we need to go over and I bring grave warnings of the future." Lucina said softly as she let go of Sumia and turned to Marcus who was rather shocked by what he had learned.

Marcus sighed a bit before he rubbed his head. "Well that explains how you know so much about me and events from when it happened eh?" He questioned as Lucina nodded, and surprising her, Marcus smiled at her. "Thanks for all the help you gave us then Lucy." Marcus said.

Then before anyone knew it, Lucina ran up and tackled hugged Marcus tightly and much to the surprise of everyone around her she seems much happier to see Marcus as he simply barely managed to brace himself for the hug as Lucina hugged him tightly.

"Godfather." Lucina sobbed out. "You're alive! And healthy! I'm so happy to see you." She whimpered a bit as she hugged tightly onto Marcus.

Marcus blinked a bit. "Not that I don't mind hugging my Goddaughter, but I thought you would be happier to see mom and dad, Lucy." Marcus replied.

"Don't get me wrong I am happy to see them, but I am happy to see you after your final sacrifice." Lucina said as everyone went into shock at that.

"Wait a minute what sacrifice? Why did Marcus sacrifice himself?" Robin demanded.

Lucina bit her lips for a moment before speaking up. "In the future Grima rose from the dead to bring havoc upon the world and devastated it." Lucina said as everyone went into shock. "Most of the Shepherds either died or went missing and children such as myself were cared for by the sole remaining Shepherd." Lucina answered as the four adults looked at her in shock.

"Grima resurrected?" Chrom muttered.

"Everyone in the Shepherds dead or missing?" Sumia gasped in shock.

"The world ended?" Robin whispered.

"What happened in the future?" Marcus questioned.

Lucina looked at Marcus calmly before she sighed. "All of the Shepherds fell one by one all save for you Marcus." Lucina said as Marcus blinked in shock. "You were the sole remaining Shepherd in the future and you sacrificed yourself to hold off Grim and his army of Risen while me and a select few others went back in time to change our fate." She answered.

"I'm…the sole remaining Shepherd?" Marcus mumbled as Lucina nodded.

"Correct Godfather, your sacrifice all but ensured that we had a fighting chance against the World's End."


	25. Chapter 18

(Begin Flashback)

Marcus was running through the halls of Castle Ylisstol as quickly as he could as the screams of battles were being heard outside and soon he bursted through the war room completely exhausted to see Sumia and the remaining Shepherds. And soon all the Shepherds turned to him as they saw the one armed, one eyed Spymaster of Ylisse standing before them looking completely worried.

"Marcus!" Sumia called in out in concern. "What is the problem right now?" She asked.

Marcus took a moment to compose himself as he looked at the Shepherds with a grim look. "The First Battalion of Ylisse has fallen and we have reports of Risen in the hundreds of thousands approaching Ylisstol right now in addition to the Risen we're fighting here." He reported grimly as the Shepherds gasped in shock and worry.

"What?!" Frederick shouted at Marcus with wide eyes. "How sure are you of this Marcus?" he demanded.

"My spies have seen enough Risen to block out any ground they walk upon for miles on end." Marcus said firmly. "But the worst bit is, they swore they saw a gigantic dragon at the tail end of the army with possibly even more Risen." He said as the Shepherds went silent at that.

"So Grima has arrived." Lissa muttered as she clenched her Recovery Staff tightly. "No matter what we do here, Ylisse ends today." She said with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Lissa." Lon'qu muttered as he hugged his wife.

Sumia looked pale and sad at what she heard. She no longer had it within herself to be horrified by what she learned. She hasn't been the same since Chrom was killed over a year ago and Robin went missing and all that they managed to recover was the Falchion, which was placed in the care of Marcus as it is an important family heirloom and she believed there to be no one better than Marcus to care for it.

"So, what are your orders Sumia?" Marcus asked in exhaustion as he wasn't as sarcastic or chipper as he used to be anymore, not with Robin vanishing on him. But regardless, he had a duty to fulfill and accomplish. And he would be damned if he let his feelings get in the way of his duty.

All of the Shepherds turned to Sumia as she was now the highest ranking official left in Ylisse and they all deferred to her for all executive decisions now. The War against Grima and his endless hoard of the dead left them with very few leadership members left and they had to work with what they can.

"…Marcus, I want you to take all of our children and evacuate Ylisstol immediately." Sumia ordered as all of the Shepherds went wide eyed at what she said.

Marcus blinked once, then again, and then a third time as the full weight of what Sumia ordered him to do finally hit his mind. "What?!" He gasped out in shock.

"You heard me Marcus, I want you take our children and flee immediately." She ordered as Marcus was about to protest before she silenced him. "I know you don't want to leave any of us, but with the way the battle is going…we're not going to make it for long and I want my daughters to be in your care Marcus." Sumia said sadly.

"But Sumia, I can't do that!" Marcus protested. "What about you and the rest of the Shepherds? What will they be doing? What about your daughters? You can't leave them now, they need you more than ever before with Chrom dead!" Marcus pleaded with Sumia.

"Marcus." Sumia spoke up interrupting his protests. "All of us Shepherds need to be here to fight for what will be our final battle." She said as Marcus flinched at that. "And if I were to abandon my people and the Army of Ylisse, then I will make for a terrible queen don't you think?" She sadly joked.

"Then be a terrible queen then!" Marcus pleaded. "But be the mother that Lucy and Cyndy need right now." He begged at this point as Sumia shook her head.

"My decision is final Marcus, and I cannot allow you to fight either since you haven't seen active combat since you lost your arm in combat." She said as Marcus gritted his teeth. If only he had been more aware of what was going on in the assassination affair.

"Marcus." Lissa spoke up cutting Marcus from thinking back to that night as he saw Lissa looked at him with a sad smile but determined look behind her eyes. "Watch over Owain, okay? Make sure he grows up to be a wonderful man." She said calmly.

"…Lissa." Marcus muttered as he felt someone grabbed his shoulder to see that it was Sully who did so but with a proud and brave expression on her face.

"Make sure my little girl becomes the best warrior else you be answering to me got it?" She threatened him as Marcus nodded numbly at that.

Soon Miriel stepped up to him and for once her normal impassive face has tints of sadness as well as pride. "Make sure Laurent doesn't skip out on learning whatever he can, am I clear?" She asked as Marcus closed his eyes and nodded as well.

"Marcus." Maribelle spoke up to him with her stern expression. "Try not to raise Brady into speaking like a thug, will you?" She requested of him as Marcus chuckled a bit but nodded.

"Boss." Olivia spoke up as she approached him. "Just tell Inigo that we're always watching over him no matter what, all right?" She asked of him so softly and looked even more smaller than she ever has in her life.

"Olivia." Marcus muttered and teared up a bit but stopped and looked to the remaining Shepherds in the room. "You have my word that I will get the kids to safety and raise them to the best of my ability no matter what." He said as everyone in the room nodded to him.

"Naga watch you Marcus." Libra prayed for him as Marcus chuckled a bit.

"I think you guys will need it here more than I do, Holy Man." Marcus quipped as he looked at them one last time. "I'm sorry." He apologized before he ran out of the room to get ready.

* * *

Marcus soon got a bunch of carriages loaded up with supplies that Marcus could not fit onto the main carts with the kids in tow, and he had his six remaining spies aid him in getting these supplies onto the cart.

"Sir, this is the last crate of supply we can carry, we have no more room." One of the spies reported as Marcus nodded.

"Excellent work Davis, we have to start moving now, before the fighting gets any worse." He said before a loud thumping noise stopped their activity dead cold and then their spines froze when they heard the largest and loudest roar in their entire lives.

"Grima is here." One of the more religions spy spoke up as he muttered his prayer.

This quickly knocked Marcus out of his shock as he started barking orders now. "WE'RE LEAVING NOW!" He shouted. "RALLY UP MEN, WE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" He shouted as all of them nodded and got into the reins of their carriage and soon ushered the horses to move as fast as they can, avoiding all the obstacles in their way as Marcus gritted his teeth as he tried to hold onto the reins with one hand.

Marcus could hear the cries and whimpering of the kids behind him as Marcus cursed as he blocked an arrow with his armor and looked back to see that the kids were scared and terrified and started to look back through the gap.

"Don't look back!" Marcus barked out as he gritted his teeth and managed to get out to the countryside as he closed his eyes in anger and sadness as he could smell the burning of Ylisse behind him now.

It was over, there was nothing he could do, the enemy was too great and he couldn't save his friends and family that he forged bonds with for over a decade.

Everything was gone, and every remaining Shepherd save for him was now dead, and all he had with him were six of his men and the children of the Shepherds in his carriage.

"…I'm sorry." Marcus muttered to himself as he started tearing up. "There was nothing I could do about Grima and his army of Risen." He said to himself repeatedly over and over again not knowing that a young blue haired girl was looking at him in concern.

'Godfather.' Lucina thought sadly.

(Flashback End)

"And that's what mother said to you before you took all of us and fled from the capital as Grima made his way." Lucina explained to the shocked audience as she looked over to Marcus in particular. "You watched and protected us for many years and taught us many skills not just related to combat but to wilderness survival, tactics, trap making, arts, and many more to keep us all alive Godfather." Lucina said softly.

Marcus was speechless at what he heard from Lucina and Robin, Chrom, and Sumia were not far behind him at that. Eventually Marcus was the first to recover from the shock of a lifetime.

"So, I raised you and the other kids that the married Shepherds are likely to have then?" he asked as Lucina nodded at that as Marcus sighed. "Christ Almighty." He muttered. "I can't believe I was the only Shepherd to have lived for that long."

"To be fair Godfather." Lucina spoke up. "It wasn't your fault, you were medically discharged from the Shepherds after the Assassination attempt against auntie Emmeryn as you lost your arm and eye during the incident." She explained as Robin suddenly realized something.

"Wait a minute, but you told us the Exalt was in danger!" She exclaimed.

"The Exalt was in danger." Lucina clarified. "But she would never be killed in the incident as Godfather fought valiantly to protect her from harm." She said as Marcus soon spoke up.

"You know, you don't have to call me Godfather all the time, just call me whatever feels comfortable to you." Marcus pointed out as Lucina blinked a bit and nodded and blushed somewhat.

"Uncle Marcus would have been out of the fighting game as a result and he soon turned his efforts into improving the gear of the army and making lives better for our people." Lucina explained.

Marcus seem to chuckle at that. "At the end, I ended up like that old repair guy Raul after all." He muttered as everyone smiled at that mention.

"But to clarify, the whole point in intervening in the Assassination Attempt was to prevent Marcus from getting injured for life, right?" Robin clarified as Lucina nodded.

"Yes, Uncle Marcus was instrumental in all our survival and not only that I'm sure you're aware of what happened when Gangrel took Emmeryn and you didn't have Marcus with you right?" She pointed out and soon the four of them paled in shock.

"By Naga's tail!" Chrom swore. "Emm and the Pegasus Knights would have been killed!" He said in shock as Lucina nodded sadly.

"And without Marcus's efforts, at that time, the war would have dragged on longer and would have prevented you from preparing as well as you like for Walhart." She said sadly. "Because Lady Robin was the Tactician you…blamed her for Emmeryn's death at times father." She said with a wince as Chrom looked horrified at his future self's actions.

"But there was nothing that Robin could do." Sumia spoke up. "It's not like there's been any case of a Mage summoning untold amount of Risen with ease." She protested.

Lucina nodded at that. "I know mother, but I believe we all know how emotional father could be at times." She said as everyone nodded at that and Chrom remembered with guilt at how he called Marcus a coward and backstabber when he was simply trying to stop him from acting recklessly.

"Not really proud of it." Chrom muttered.

"But regardless." Lucina continued on. "Father's emotions worried a lot of the other Shepherds who wondered if he could properly lead them and they also did not like the fact that father blamed Lady Robin for something she could not control. And father's actions caused him and Uncle Marcus to argue a lot and it drove a wedge in their friendship." She said sorrowfully as Marcus closed his eyes as Chrom looked down in guilt.

"…Did it get better?" Robin asked, she had to now this. She couldn't let Marcus and Chrom get into a bad spat over her.

"It did get better." Lucina said calmly. "But only during the course of the Valmese Conflict and even then, Uncle Marcus never really had the same amount of trust that he has with father here in this timeline." She said calmly.

"You really seem to know a lot of this and remember it well." Sumia said in worry for her daughter.

"It's hard to forget when the people you cherish argued viciously with each other and you see it as a small child." Lucina replied calmly but with an undercurrent of sadness before she was pulled into a hug by Chrom. "Father?" She questioned.

"You deserve so much more than what I gave you." He whispered quietly to her. "I am so sorry." He said as Lucina simply hugged Chrom once again.

Lucina simply teared up again and started hugging Chrom tightly as Sumia joined in too as the parents were upset by what their precious girl went through in the future.

Marcus and Robin simply just stayed silent as they let the family have their moment before them but they also held onto each other due to the sad future they heard from Lucina. And soon after the family regained their composure, Robin spoke up.

"Lucina, now that you have revealed yourself. Would you like to travel with us as a member of the Shepherds?" She asked kindly as Lucina's eyes went wide at that question.

"I would be more than honored to Lady Robin." Lucina bowed to her as Robin giggled a bit at her mannerism.

"You know you don't have to be so formal with me, just call me whatever you like." Robin said with a kind smile.

Lucina blinked a for a moment and smiled a bit as she spoke up again. "Thank you, auntie Robin." She said.

"Not to spoil this sappy mood we got here." Marcus spoke up. "But what do we do about this situation, guys?" He questioned. "I mean do we tell the rest of the Shepherds about what Lucy told us or do we keep them in the dark about it?" He pointed out.

"I believe we should tell the rest of the Shepherds the truth." Chrom declared. "It is important that the Shepherds know what to fight and prepare for in future so we can deal with the threat with the most amount of readiness." Chrom said to the group.

Robin hummed at that. "That would make sense." She admitted a second or so later. "But Lucina." Robin spoke up as Lucina looked to her. "Do you know anything about what could give us a lead on Grima's resurrection?" She asked kindly.

Lucina hummed in contemplation. "Well I did remember uncle Marcus talked about the Grimleal Cult at times as well as the Plegian King that became the ruler after Gangrel was defeated." She explained as she gained raised eyebrows at that.

"Wait, so Mustafa might know something?" Sumia asked in confusion as Lucina looked just as confused.

"Mustafa? No, not him he was killed in the Second Ylissean-Plegian War and the one who took over was King Validar." She explained as she gained raised eyebrows at that.

"But Mustafa was never killed in our war and he's currently the King of Plegia right now." Robin explained as Lucina nodded in understanding at that.

"Besides." Marcus spoke up. "From what I heard when we were trying to escort Emmeryn away from the capital is that apparently the one who attempted the assassination on Emmeryn was killed so how could he have been alive unless he wasn't killed in your timeline?" He asked.

"That's the thing uncle Marcus." Lucina said with a grimace. "You did kill him in my timeline but somehow he came back alive through unknown means." She said as everyone looked shocked at that.

"How the Hell did that guy come back from the dead?!" Marcus questioned seriously. "I mean me and Robin killed that guy and he hasn't come back here yet at all." He pointed out as Lucina blinked at that.

"I'm not sure uncle Marcus." Lucina admitted. "Maybe my arrival here has caused a more serious butterfly effect than I previously thought." She said making everyone but Marcus confused at what she meant by that.

"Butterfly effect?" Robin asked.

"Supposedly a theory where I'm from." Marcus spoke up. "The idea is that a small change in details can cause a significant change in outcomes or small causes lead to significant outcomes." Marcus explained as he looked to Lucina. "I taught you that didn't I?" He said as Lucina nodded.

"You told us before we went back to the past we would already be changing the presence and timeline of the world itself just by existing in a time that was not our own and that events may or will not play out as previously thought." Lucina said. "It was your last word of advice before we went through the portal to the past." She added in.

Marcus nodded at that. "It seems my future self, kept up your education to an acceptable level after all." He said quite pleased that he didn't let Lucina and the other kids grow up only just fighting and surviving.

"It wasn't just that." Lucina spoke up. "You also handcrafted all of our outfits as well." She said as Marcus blinked at that. "It took you a while but all the clothes that you made for us are custom ballistic fiber outfits with a few insulators that helped kept us warm in the future." She said as she tugged on her sleeve.

Marcus blinked and slowly took a look at the outfit that Lucina was wearing and felt the material that was used to make it. He was shocked however when it was made mainly of the fiber that he pioneered during the two years of peace they had. But the Marcus of the future clearly knew what he was doing and it was much stronger than any of the ballistic fibers he had made before.

"My God." Marcus muttered with blinking eyes. "I really knew what I was doing in the future wasn't I?" He said as Lucina nodded in agreement.

"You also made the eyepatch that I used for the most part as well." She said as she handed him the eyepatch and then Marcus noticed instantly that the eyepatch was not made of fiber as he thought it was but made out of the same material that the bullet-proof visor that the T-45d and T-51b were made of. It provided some light protection, it was held securely by the ballistic fiber strings and it prevented from anyone from seeing the Exalt's Mark in Lucina's eye.

"Well I really thought quite far ahead, didn't I?" Marcus commented with a smile as Lucina nodded.

"Yes, you said that the mask I wore would help in covering my identity for the most part but there was also a chance my mask could be destroyed. You decided to make that eyepatch for me to cover my eye as well." Lucina explained happily.

"Glad I did right by you." Marcus said with a soft smile.

"You also helped braided my hair so it would be much shorter as well." Lucina added in as Marcus blinked at that.

"I braided your hair?" Marcus questioned in confusion as Lucina nodded at that.

"For all the girls in our group you did our hair and we liked what you did with it and it was with great reluctance I had you braided and roll up my hair to prevent it from being caught by the Risen." Lucina explained while thinking fondly of the girls that enjoyed Marcus's work with hair.

Noire really loved her shoulder length hair with some stylizations as did Nah as well. Though she really did love how Marcus tenderly braided her hair. Severa, despite acting like she really didn't like how Marcus treated her, also enjoyed his hair styling, though she would never admit it. Cynthia just loved the twin tail hair style he did for her and actually got it be that way to match it with Severa as she was her best friend.

'Come to think of it, Nah never really got to know her parents and Marcus was the one to raise her for the most part alongside his children as well.' Lucina thought to herself before she heard her parents and Robin snickering now.

"You really have become a stay at home father type, haven't you?" Chrom commented with a smile. Marcus simply shrugged at that.

"You do realize that when you and Sumia are not around I'm the one who watches over baby Lucina remember?" Marcus pointed out as Lucina blushed a bit. "And look at how adorable my baby goddaughter has become." Marcus said with a fond look as he started pinching her cheeks causing Lucina to yelp a bit.

"Uncle!" Lucina whined causing everyone to laugh at her somewhat.

"Okay you lot." Robin spoke up. "We should introduce Lucina to the rest of the group and get her ready to join up on our mission. First we have to deal with Walhart and his army then we can focus on dealing with the resurrection of Grima and the end of the world." She said as everyone nodded in agreement with Robin.

* * *

Soon the Royal Couple, Grandmaster, Spymaster, and Lucina went back to the rest of the Shepherds who were worried about them since they didn't see them for a while. Eventually they managed to set up camp in a relatively safe place and soon they debriefed the rest of the Shepherds on Lucina's status and the future that she hailed from.

Needless to say, many were shocked by the statement of what Lucina said and when she showed them the proof of the Brand of the Exalt in her eye, they stopped doubting her. Compared to Marcus's story of being from another reality, Lucina's tale of being from the future seems to be equal if not, on less than Marcus's story because they had gotten used to this kind of surprise somewhat.

But nevertheless, they all swore they would not fail Lucina and the next generation at that very moment. They will not let their possible children suffer in the future and they swore they will make the world a better place for all their possible children to be in. Lucina was very touched by the heartfelt commitment made by the Shepherds of the last and almost cried at the sight of many Shepherds swearing to ensure that the future will change for the better and not let Grima win.

After the meeting, the Shepherds went their own separate ways for the rest of the day and soon Marcus started working on contacting his spies to watch out for any suspicious activities from the Grimleal Cult. He had nothing to go on for what could cause Grima's Resurrection and right now, the Grimleal Cult is his best chance.

'But the Grimleal Cult has gone underground since Gangrel's death.' Marcus thought to himself as he looked over the details of his report saved inside his Pipboy on a cop of what he knows about the Cult from his spying for over two years. 'The Grimleal Cult were a threat to the stability and peace between Ylisse and Plegia but now they are most likely connected to the dark future that Lucina hails from and even worse I haven't heard anything of them for the last two years.' He thought with a frown as he rubbed his chin in worry and contemplation.

He had done his research and background details on the Grimleal Cult. After greasing more than a few palms and digging around. He was able to discover that the Grimleal Cult were the ones responsible for putting Gangrel on the throne. They were also the ones mainly involved with the random amounts of Risen that seems to be attacking everywhere in the last two years or so. In fact, from eyewitness testimony, they were the ones who told Gangrel of the power of the Fire Emblem.

When Marcus learned of all this, he had no doubt come to the conclusion that they were the ones who must have instigated the conflict between Ylisse and Plegia. But for whatever purpose they had, he did not know until Lucina told him the truth. It all made sense to him now that he thought about it and worked out the details. The Fire Emblem was one of the most important artifacts that brought down the original Grima. Only a select few people can use the Fire Emblem to its fullest potential. And they all tended to be members of the Royal Family of Ylisse.

By taking out Emmeryn, a very likely candidate for the Fire Emblem usage and the Exalt of the country of Ylisse, they would be taking out two birds with one stone. They would take out a candidate that can possibly use the Fire Emblem and they would also be able to cripple the leadership of Ylisse at the same time. While also enraging Chrom to declare a war on Plegia with limited numbers and make him fight on their home turf, making it easier for the Cult to plan out his death and therefore also removing a user of Falchion, a Candidate to use the Fire Emblem, and one of the few leaders left in Ylisse capable of leading the nation now.

'They were certainly proving themselves to be a pack of rats, that's for sure. But even rats can pose a threat as well.' Marcus thought to himself as he looked over more reports on the Grimleal Cult. 'From what can be seen or heard of the Grimleal Cult, they had gone underground with possibly a new leader that is much smarter and more dangerous compared to the last leader, who idiotically lead a charge against the castle with no back up plan.' Marcus read in his head on the reports of the Cult gaining a new leader.

Marcus just sighed. "What a mess." He muttered as he put away his report and just collapsed on the cot he was in and hummed in relief on his cot. "Our situation is going to get more complicated from here on out." He noted to himself over the situation they were in. What annoyed him was that he didn't know anything about what does the ritual to resurrect Grima entails. If he could just figure out the key components then he might be able to delay the ritual and buy them enough time for them to be able to stop the Cult permanently.

"You feeling okay?" A voice spoke up suddenly causing Marcus to stop thinking so intensely to see that it was Robin looking at him with concern.

"Oh, hey Robin." Marcus greeted. "I'm okay for the most part but I'm just frustrated really." He said to Robin, who simply raised an eyebrow at him. "It's the Grimleal Cult." He started to explain. "For about two years I was wondering what kind of game were those nutty cultists playing at and then Lucina comes out of nowhere and everything they've done for the last two years now makes sense and it was something that I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't see the pattern." Marcus sighed.

Robin nodded and then gently pulled Marcus into a hug and started playing with his hair. "There wasn't anything you could have done to foreseen Grima's Resurrection Marcus." Robin said gently. "The fact you were able to find out as much as you have over the instigators of the past war is a feat by itself. You didn't fail us Marcus. You were unable to solve the puzzle that I doubt even the most intelligent could have solved unless Lucina gave them hints like she did for you as well."

Marcus was silent for a moment as he took in the warm body of his wife and let out a breath of air that made Robin feel a bit tingly and then spoke again. "I guess you're right." He admitted. "I've done everything I could to know about my foes and learning that they have a secret ritual to end the world is kind of hard to find details or info on." He said before he pulled in Robin to their tent, causing her to shriek somewhat girlishly at that. "I could always rely on you to bring up my mood." Marcus said with a fond smile as he stared directly into Robin's face.

"Of course, you can." Robin replied with her own fond smile. "I'm your wife and therefore anything I do to comfort you is going to make you feel better no matter what happens." She said before she took off her cloak. And got closer to and snuggled with Marcus.

Marcus chuckled at that. "You're the only woman for me Robin." Marcus said fondly. "I didn't spend a year and a half getting to know you and then proposing to you to fall for anyone else." He said.

"I know." Robin replied. "Do you remember that celebratory banquet from so long ago?" She asked.

"How could I forget?" Marcus retorted. "It was then and there we decided to give our relationship a try and I would never regret it since then."

"And that lead to our whole relationship." Robin added in. "I'm glad you married me Marcus." She said sweetly.

"And I'm glad to marry you as well, you promised to show me a different life and you had not lied." Marcus replied as he kissed Robin softly on the forehead. Then slowly but surely, they began to fall asleep and waited for the problems of today to be taken care of tomorrow. Unaware of the challenges they face from their foes and the dangerous threat they pose.


	26. Chapter 19

The very next day after Lucina revealed her secret, Chrom and Robin got into contact with Emmeryn, Basilio, and Flavia to update them on the current situation and what they have learned from Lucina. Needless to say, the Khans and Exalt were shocked by what they learned and agreed to look further in on the matters of the Grimleal Cult as well as any history books that they had on the matter of what would be needed to bring back the Fell Dragon Grima from the grave.

After much discussion and thoughts on what they would need to do next, Chrom and Robin agreed to go back to Regna Ferox to help the nation deal with any possible internal threats while Regna Ferox prepared for war. The ship fleet from Plegia would take some time as well as gather all the resources and men for the invasion that while the Khans worked on getting the soldiers, the Shepherds would help by dealing with the internal issues that Regna Ferox was deal with.

The meeting thankfully ended on a high note as Emmeryn demanded that Chrom bring Lucina to the next meeting so she can meet her precious and adorable little niece. By the end of that meeting everyone was laughing and Robin could only shake her head at what Lucina would have to deal with in terms of teasing from Emmeryn.

After their meeting with the leaders, Chrom and Robin headed to the meeting tent where all of the Shepherds and their allies were gathered. As soon as they entered everyone paid attention to them. And before long Robin spoke up.

"Hello everyone, as you may or may not be aware we had quite the surprise last night, didn't we?" She said with a wry grin looking at Lucina as most of the Shepherds chuckled or giggled a bit as Lucina turned red at the attention directed at her. "And as you may want to know, our war effort is still going strong." She announced as everyone nodded or grinned at that. "However, there are a few complications that we have to deal with first and foremost." Robin added in.

"And what complications might those be?" Cordelia asked.

"Well to start off." Chrom spoke up now. "We may have gotten every objective we needed done but we still have to wait for some time before we can start our coastal invasion." Chrom explained. "The Khans are trying to speed up allocation of men and resources for our war but that is no easy task, not to mention the amount of effort that the Plegians need to move a whole fleet of ships plus their own men and resources as well."

Henry nodded at that as he spoke up. "Yeah, trying to get assembled for a wartime economy is a bit hard." He admitted. "Not to mention Pops has to deal with all the paperwork and nobility complaining about all the ships and men we're moving as well. And that's not even taking into account over the fact that we need to get our ships to Regna Ferox as well."

"So, what are we going to be doing in the meanwhile?" Sully asked. "I mean sure training is all well and good but nothing beats getting experience like actual battle." Sully added in as Chrom and Robin nodded at that assessment.

"Glad you asked about that." Robin replied as she pulled out a map as a few Shepherds stood up to look at it. "I was talking with the Khans over what we could do to help, and as it turns out they are facing a few troubles of their own in their own nation that could delay allocation of supplies and soldiers for our war effort." Robin explained as she pointed a to a few locations that she circled. "We received word of a few bands of dangerous slavers and Risen causing trouble throughout their territory, and I figured that fighting more would help get back into shape."

Everyone nodded in agreement at that and then Marcus noticed something that made him spoke up. "Question Robin?" Marcus asked as his wife nodded to him. "Why is there a temple circled on there?" He pointed out. "Thought you said we were going after annoyances and threats to Regna Ferox." He added in confusion.

"I'm glad you asked Marcus." Chrom spoke up. "You see, as it turns out that the temple that Robin circled is said to have a few rare but powerful relics that could aid in our war and me and Robin figured we would be better getting those artifacts before anyone else does." Chrom explained as Marcus nodded at the explanation and sat back down.

"Very well then, any objections?" Robin asked as every Shepherd shook their head. "Very well then, we will move out tomorrow, today we get ready and rest while we still can, it's a bit a way off from the temple that we are heading to." Robin said as she dismissed the Shepherds and all of them left to start preparing and or doing their own activities and hobbies.

* * *

Marcus was walking to the training area where he intended to get some more practice in when he saw that Lucina was already there and practically tearing apart all the dummies with a series of maneuvers and strikes that it amazed Marcus that the baby girl that he saw back at the castle would grow up to be such a fierce warrior in the future where she hailed from.

As soon as she destroyed the last dummy, Marcus simply whistled at the havoc she caused, knowing for certain now that she is Chrom's daughter as only Chrom could destroy this much with ease. Marcus's whistling also caught Lucina's attention who jumped a bit as she turned around to face Marcus.

"Uncle Marcus?" Lucina squeaked.

Marcus chuckled somewhat before he spoke up. "Hey there Lucina, here I was going to train for a bit and here you are destroying dummies left and right like there's no tomorrow." He laughed a bit causing Lucina to blush at that. "You really are Chrom's daughter, aren't you?" Marcus smiled with a fond look on his face.

"Uncle!" Lucina whined once again as Marcus chuckled at her reaction. "So, Uncle." Lucina spoke as she stopped blushing. "How have you been?" She asked.

"Well I think I'm doing perfectly okay as I can be." Marcus said to Lucina as Lucina simply tilted her head in confusion. "I mean, no offense but your story is a lot to take in but I know you're telling the truth, just a bit overwhelming you know?" Marcus tried to explain to Lucina who only nodded in understanding.

"I think I can relate to that." Lucina replied. "Back when we were on the run and we managed to find a safe place to rest for the night, you use to tell us stories of your old homeland and your origins." Lucina said as Marcus raised an eyebrow as Lucina smiled back. "I remember those stories as dear to my heart to this very day from the first time you told us about them."

"Really?" Marcus questioned. "What kind of stories did I tell you? Or for that matter which of my stories did you enjoy listening to?" He asked as Lucina hummed for a bit before replying.

"I would have to say my favorite story is the one you told about the Survivalist." Lucina replied. "I remember how much you respected the man who sacrificed so much and gained so little, and in a strange way, me and my friends could relate to such a man." Lucina said as Marcus looked interested and she continued to speak. "A man who lost his family because of a war he had no control over, being forced to survive on the land and by himself. Meeting a group of people that were nice but unable to communicate. Fighting back against a hostile group of survivors. But helping out one among them who was left behind and then falling in love with said woman only to lose both her and the child in childbirth." Lucina paused as she sniffled a bit. "And then being forced to survive by his lonesome before discovering a small group of children." Lucina smiled at that memory. "teaching them everything he could and gave them words of encouragement before he passed on." Lucina closed her eyes after summarizing the details of the story.

Marcus was amazed by how Lucina remembered the story so fondly, he could even hear the admiration she had for Randall after all he'd done. 'Guess you're not going to be forgotten no matter what, eh Clark?' Marcus thought in his head. "Glad that you enjoy my bedtime stories Lucy." Marcus smiled back at the princess.

"It was one of the few things you could give us a semblance of normalcy while we were on the run." Lucina replied before she stared at Marcus and his sword in his hand. "Would like to spar with me uncle?" Lucina asked as she brought up Falchion.

Marcus hummed for a bit before he brought his blade as well. "I always did want to see just how much fighting skills did future me and future Chrom taught you as well as the experience you gained in fighting." Marcus replied back with an eager smirk.

"To be honest uncle." Lucina said with her own smirk. "I always did want to face you again, I could never seem to get an edge over you even when you fought with only one arm, I want to try facing you at your younger self, with presumably less experience." Lucina replied.

Marcus snorted at that. "Don't you dare think I'm an easy foe just because I'm not a stubborn old geezer like my future self." He said as he got into a battle stance as did Lucina as they took steps to keep each other at their distances, with nothing to pass between them as they simply narrowed their eyes in concentration at each other.

Then all of sudden Lucina rushed in as she brought up Falchion for a downward swing as Marcus quickly blocked it with his sword. And as soon as they clashed, sparks from their respective blades were created and soon Marcus brought up his right leg to strike at Lucina, who quickly brought up her left arm to block it before she jumped back away from Marcus, back in a ready combat pose once again.

Then Marcus was the one to charge this time around as he brought his blade into a sideway swing that Lucina blocked instantly with her Falchion, before her eyes widened as Marcus brought up his arm and jabbed at her causing her to swing both Falchion and Marcus's blade away from her and towards his jabbing arm causing Marcus to pull back his arm, lest he gets hurt by it. Then Marcus and Lucina clashed once again as they started trying to strike each other down with their blades and or dodge each other's attacks as they got locked into fierce combat.

Marcus and Lucina clashed blades, swung them around, spun around each other trying to get one over but regardless, none of them were able to get an edge over each other so far. As they clashed blades again, they jumped away from each other examining for any weak spots that the other might have. Before they once again lunged at each other trying to get an edge over each other.

Marcus stuck with his brutal mix of swordplay and hand to hand combat by throwing in punches where Lucina did not see it coming, which she barely managed to dodge or got a few scratches her and there. On the other hand, Lucina combined her father's swordplay with Marcus's brutal mix in of CQC by adding punches and kicks to whenever she could to take on Marcus. Every kick and punch she made on his body caused him to grunt in annoyance or pain.

Then as they blade locked again trying to push each other down for supremacy, when Lucina and Marcus got close to each other's face. Marcus simply headbutted Lucina, causing her to recoil in pain as Marcus got close and grabbed her sword hand and forced her to drop Falchion, before he flipped her over and placed her in a headlock.

"Yield." Marcus demanded as Lucina chuckled and nodded in response before he loosened up and Lucina got up from the ground groaning somewhat before she cracked her neck and stretched a bit. "I have to say." Marcus spoke as he sighed somewhat. "You're pretty good at what you do and I am pretty sure I would have lost a few times if I didn't get lucky." Marcus complimented.

"I learned from the best." Lucina replied back with her own smile before she sighed somewhat. "Even back then, you were still as formidable as your future self." Lucina said with a smile. "I shuddered to think what would have happened if you still had both hands in the future." Lucina said as she shivered somewhat. "No offense to you uncle, but training with you is always both awe-inspiring and fear-inducing." Lucina said with a wry smile as Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"I take it I was a really harsh taskmaster throughout your lives then?" Marcus questioned as he shook his head. "Damn, and I was hoping I didn't have to be hard on you guys." Marcus lamented.

"You were really harsh on us in the latter parts of our lives to push us to our near limits to make us stronger." Lucina explained. "early on, you had all of us focus on building up our body strength and making sure we grow fit to use multiple weapons with proficiency." Lucina said.

"Really?" Marcus noticed that last bit with interest. "What did I teach you all in what weapons to fight with?" He asked, kind of curious about the training regime that he gave Lucina and possibly other future kids and wondered how effective it was in making them prepared to fight and survive in a hostile world that wanted all remaining humans' dead.

"Well you taught us how to use our knives first off." Lucina explained as she took out a dagger that she had hidden on hand and much to Marcus's approval, started doing some rather fancy maneuvers and tricks with it and then throwing said dagger blade first into the head of a dummy. "You wanted us to learn the smallest weapon that we could use as kids, and then later on you had trained with wooden swords, axes, spears, bows, and other kinds of weapons so we can fight with any weapon we could get our hands on." Lucina added in.

"I see." Marcus hummed. "And I'm assuming after I taught you the basics, I allowed you guys to specialize in whatever weapon you preferred then I assume?" Marcus questioned as Lucina nodded. Marcus simply hummed at that. "I wonder how effective my training in the future was?" Marcus mused in thought. "Granted, Lucina is good enough to face Chrom and could have beaten him if Lucina desired to do so." Then Marcus looked back to Lucina with a serious look.

Lucina blinked a bit. "Is there something the matter uncle?" Lucina asked.

"Yeah, a few actually." Marcus admitted. "What did you demand from Khan Basilio for fighting as his champion if we were to lose?" He asked. "And I know that you must have beaten Lon'qu as the guy has a fear of women, but what was your price?" Marcus asked.

Lucina blinked at that before she got into a thinking pose. "Well, I did want him to support Ylisse by getting him to provide men for our nation so that was part of the price." Lucina admitted before Marcus gave her a raised look. "The other bit was to have helped find the other companions that traveled with me from the future, having any kind of resources would have been helpful in finding them and then working together." She added in.

Marcus went into thought about that. "Do you have any idea where your companions would be?" Marcus asked as he came across a possible question. "If we could recruit these companions of yours then it would be very helpful in adding more numbers to our Shepherds Lucina."

Lucina got into a think pose over that. "I think the majority of them would be heading to Valm if they received word of Emperor Walhart invading." She offered up as a possible explanation. "But as for some of them, well…some of them may be more focused on other objectives than preventing the rise of Grima." Lucina winced as Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Don't take it the wrong way uncle." Lucina said quickly. "It's just not everyone has hopes and some are simply too resigned to the tragedies of the past that they simply give up." She explained as she thought with a wince over a few people who could easily fit that criteria.

Marcus sighed at that. "I can't really blame them for that. Marcus admitted. "To see nothing but pain and destruction your entire life, it just gives people a twisted perspective on life. It makes them see that there is nothing to hope for and regardless of the idea or the fact that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it just doesn't matter." Marcus said looking older than any other time as of late when he said this. "Eventually you're just sick of the tunnel and just give up."

Lucina looked at Marcus calmly when he said that. "Was it really that bad in your old home world?" Lucina asked as Marcus just chuckled sadly.

"Lucina, the world where I was from was so bad, that people became monsters to survive, we didn't fall because of some ancient monster from myth bringing about the end of the world. Humanity and humanity alone brought upon the end on itself." Marcus said bitterly. "And for what? A quick end to a war? Pride of a nation?" Marcus questioned as he shook his head. "All of that is worthless in the end when you can't even enjoy your life."

"Uncle." Lucina said in worry.

"But even so." Marcus replied as Lucina blinked when she heard that. "Just keep saying even so. Just keep on saying even so, no matter what the troubles you face." Marcus said with conviction. "If you want to make something of your life, just keep saying even so, and when you make lies of your own promises and conviction." Marcus said as Lucina took over.

"Then turn your lies into your truth, and your conviction into a miracle." Lucina finished as she smiled at a shocked look Marcus. "It was by far one of your favorite sayings when we were growing up." She said as she walked closer to Marcus. "Just keep saying even so, and even I will challenge my fate." She said more to herself then to Marcus.

Marcus was silent for a moment before he chuckled at what he heard and started patting Lucina on the head. "You really are something else aren't you Lucina?" Marcus said fondly. "Now get some rest now. We're leaving tomorrow morning." Marcus said as Lucina nodded at that.

"Yes, uncle."

* * *

"So, Robin what can you tell us about this temple we're heading to?" Marcus asked as he looked through his binoculars scouting the temple that they were supposed to excavating for artifacts that might help them in their war against Walhart.

"I don't know much about the temple itself." Robin admitted before she took a look at it before mentally correcting it to be ruins. "All I heard from the Khans is that it used to be an important place of worship for Naga back in the early days but eventually they had to leave it because of how difficult it was to maintain the temple away from any close civilizations." She explained.

"Interesting." Marcus muttered as he looked around before he hissed causing the Shepherds that were with him to look in worry. "Damn it, we got a bunch of Risen heading towards the Ruins right about now." He reported before the other Shepherds muttered to themselves in confusion.

"That doesn't make any sense." Chrom noted. "Why would there be any Risen this far out and heading to the Ruins as well?" He asked as everyone could only shrug in responses to the question.

"Who cares why the Risen are here?" Vaike bellowed loudly. "As long as they're here might as well get some good practice in and kick some butt while we're at it?"

"Damn straight." Sully said in agreement before she fist bumped with Vaike as some of the other Shepherds were chuckling now.

"…Anyways." Chrom continued on with an exasperated smile now. "What we thought was a simple relic expedition is now a Risen extermination mission as well." Chrom said looking quite serious. "We have to get rid of these Risen before they can do any damage, there's no telling what kind of damage they could do if we don't take care of them." He said as everyone nodded at that.

"That's right." Robin chirped up. "That is why I came up with a few plans in the events we had been facing someone here." She said as she pulled out a map that was hand drawn. "We know that the tunnels for the ruins are large enough that we can fit in flyer units, and so looking over from previous failed expeditions, we are able to have a map of what we need to face and the best way to tackle this place is to go into two groups and work our way to each other to clear out the most amount of Risen." Robin explained. "Any questions?"

Stahl raised his hand up. "Yes, just which groups are we going with and why?" He asked.

Robin nodded at that. "Good question Stahl, you see one group will be led by Chrom and Sumia, while the other group will be led by me and Marcus." She started off. "Lissa, Lon'qu, Frederick, Stahl, Miriel, Kellam, Gaius, Panne, Nowi, Donnel, and Lucina will go in one group, while the rest of you guys will follow under our jurisdiction, okay?" She called out as everyone nodded.

"Then saddle up boys and girls." Marcus spoke up as he pulled out his Lucky revolver and loaded and holstered it onto his right side. "Because I believe we're in for a bumpy ride."

* * *

"Look at this place!" "Ricken marveled in awe as he and Robin's group walked into another section of the Ruins. "It's so big underneath and the amount of effort and skills to build such a place is difficult even by our time."

"And that's not even taking into account of almost every place here glowing." Maribelle marveled as well. "You could just feel the magic radiating in the air around us." She motioned to the ruins that seems to be glowing with magic.

"Focus people." Marcus called out in front of them as he looked carefully around the place and taking simple steps on parts of the ground that seem stable as he tossed a few rocks ahead each time that he picked up from the ground. "No telling what kind of trouble we might be facing soon." He said.

"It's go time everyone." Robin spoke up as a group of Risen appeared before them on the next corner all glaring at the group. "Let's show these Risen what we're made of." She said to the total assent of everyone around her as Virion took aim and opened fire on the Risen first before everyone else got their weapons or tomes out to charge at the Risen.

* * *

"Father duck down!" Lucina shouted as she ran up to Chrom who just finished cutting down a Risen Soldier as he ducked down in time to slice a Risen Assassin and Risen Swordsman in half.

"Nice work Lucina!" Chrom complimented before he blocked another attack from a Risen and knocked its weapon aside and cut it in half. "Any more Risen you see?" Chrom called out to the group as all of them shook their heads. "Either way be on guard, we don't know how many Risen are here in this part." He ordered as everyone nodded.

"Milord." Frederick spoke up. "Everyone that was hurt are now healed up and this place is now secured I suggest we move up." He said.

Chrom nodded at that as he looked to Lissa. "How are you doing so far Lissa?" he asked.

"Doing perfectly fine Chrom!" Lissa shouted back.

"Okay then." Chrom cracked his neck a bit. "I guess we can move up ahead…" he started to say before he heard a sound that could only come from the only person that had that weapon.

"What is Marcus doing here?" Sumia asked.

"I don't know, but let's hurry." Chrom replied as he and his group raced to where the sounds came from and Lucina started to gain a contemplative look on her face as they reached another sector and soon saw where the sounds where coming from.

Clad in his Riot Gear was Marcus and the person next to him was Robin in her coat. But for the life of him he didn't know why Marcus was using what he called a rifle and Robin had a hood up blasting fire spells at the Risen chasing after them. And he also noticed they were a bit shorter.

Robin quickly rose her hand from her tome to create a fireball and did so successfully for a moment before she yelped as an arrow shot out from among the Risen and hit her tome out of her hands. Marcus was doing no better as he was trying to reload but suddenly tripped as his foot landed on a piece of ground that was unstable and gave way knocking him down as he groaned somewhat.

"Marc!" Robin cried out and Chrom did not noticed that Lucina gasped at that. Though he did note what Robin called Marcus, since when did she ever called Marcus Marc? "Damn it of all the time for a Risen to get a lucky shot on my tome." She muttered and this is where Chrom and the others intervened.

"To battle Shepherds!" Chrom shouted as they charged at the Risen catching Marcus and Robin by surprise.

"What the?" Marcus muttered as Chrom gave Marcus a hand. "Thanks." He said gratefully.

"Any time." Chrom said as he pulled up Marcus and instantly realized that Marcus was far shorter now but he put that away for now. "So, you two good to fight?" he asked.

"Oh definitely!" Robin said excitedly, we have the numbers now so more than enough to take them down." She said as she pulled out her sword and Marcus rapidly nodded his head.

"Aye with you guys around no Risen can ever hope to beat our awe-inspiring strength!" Marcus said rather dramatically.

Everyone blinked for a moment at what Marcus said and went straight back to slaughtering Risen to make sure they were facing no more threats as Lon'qu and Frederick smashed through the heavier Risen types while Gaius and Panne moved around the battlefield to take on Risen rather quietly from behind while Kellam, Stahl, and Donnel formed a protective barrier around the long-ranged fighters.

As soon as everyone was done fighting the Risen they turned to the duo that they knew for a fact were not Marcus and Robin.

"Whoa, did the atmosphere change or something?" Not-Robin spoke up. "It went from like battle serious to uncomfortable secret time."

"I know right?" Not-Marcus laughed out. "It's so weird." He said before he looked around and he positively beamed when he saw Lucina. "Luci!" Not-Marcus said cheerfully. "Great to see you again!"

"Marc…Morgan." Lucina whispered out before she ran to the duo and hugged them. "Oh, thank Naga the both of you are okay!" She all but shouted at the duo as they hugged back.

"Lucina?" Chrom asked as he blinked at the sight. "Mind telling us who they are?" He asked with an interested tone now.

Lucina looked up and blushed a bit. "Oh, sorry father, it's just I was so excited to see them once again." She said happily as Morgan pulled down her hood and Marc took off his helm looking very similar to another couple that was leading the other team.

"Hey there." Morgan spoke up. "My name is Morgan and this is my twin brother Marc." She said pointing to Marcus who smiled happily at them. "And our parents are Marcus and Robin, pleased to meet you guys for real now." She said with a happy look on her face.

* * *

"Get down!" Marcus hissed as he pulled down Olivia as she yelped as a Risen riding a Griffon of all things was about to snatch her up. "Seriously, how on earth did a Risen managed to get a Griffon up here so quickly?" He wondered.

"Let's not focus on that right now." Robin spoke as she used her Nebula Blitz to cast a lightning strike at the Risen riding a griffon. But had to redirect it at the last minute as a bunch of Risen appeared behind Maribelle and Ricken and she managed to shock them in time.

Marcus sighed for a moment before he looked to Cherche and Cordelia. "Do you think you two ladies can get that punk and his giant chicken down to ground level?" He asked.

"With ease Marcus." Cordelia assured him,

"Oh, don't worry about that." Cherche said with a nasty grin. "Griffons were never the most friendly of creatures to deal with for me or Minerva ever." She said as she got up on Minerva. "Also, where's Raptor?" Cherche asked.

"Raptor's back at the camp making sure that no one tries to steal anything and is perfectly content playing guard for our stuff." Marcus replied as he ducked as the Risen tried to decapitate him. "Hurry up and deal with him please." Marcus muttered as he got into a duel with a giant Risen.

Cordelia and Cherche instantly flew to deal with the Griffon Risen as the flew around striking at the Risen and the Griffon in its blind spots as they poked more and more holes into the Risen and its mount till Cherche smashed her axe onto the Griffon mount, sending it squawking and flying down while Cordelia used her lance to strike down the Risen into the ground causing both to fall to the ground.

Robin and Marcus finishing dealing with all the Risen on their side saw that the Risen and its mount trying to get up once again to fight them.

"Oh, Hell no!" Marcus muttered as he pulled out and equipped Two-Step Goodbye and rushed at the Risen and soon as he got close to them went up for a right-handed hook with the most sadistic smile underneath his helmet. "Bon Voyage Freak." Marcus muttered as he scored a critical punch on the Risen and its mount and send it exploding down all the way of the steps. Hopefully it does before it hits the end.

Robin sighed as she took a moment to breath. "So, shall we go down since this is the only other way now?" She asked as everyone nodded. "Right then, down we go." She ordered.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight." Chrom said as he tried to understand this. "You mean to tell me that those two, Marc and Morgan by the way." He said pointing to the twins who just waved back at him smiling. "Are Marcus and Robin's children." He said slowly.

"Yes father." Lucina replied back as she nodded.

"And you mean to tell me that you never bothered telling us that Marcus and Robin had kids in the future for what reason exactly?" Chrom asked trying to figure this out as he saw that Lucina was fidgeting somewhat. "Lucina, please be honest with me." he sighed at that.

"Well, you see father." Lucina start off awkwardly. "The companions that came back with me were all the children of Shepherds." She started off as the other Shepherds looked and talked with each other in excitement. "And one of the reasons that I didn't tell you because I was unsure of how much history I would change and whether or not I might accidentally compromise their births as well." She explained.

"Lucina." Sumia spoke up. "You could have been honest with us." She said kindly. "Was it really that important to keep the identities of your companions a secret?" She asked calmly.

Lucina looked down. "I wanted everyone's parents to get married because they love each other, not because they have to do it out of some obligation to ensure my friends are around." She said.

"Ah it's okay Luci." Marcus spoke up with a smile. "We know that you had our best interests at heart and we don't blame you for it." Marc said happily. "So, don't worry and all is forgiven okay?" he said as Lucina smiled back and hugged Marc warmly.

While the Shepherds were being touched in the heart by this heartwarming scene. Chrom resisted the urge to stab Marc with Falchion upon seeing how close those two were. Then he heard something crashing down. "What is that noise?" He wondered aloud as everyone stopped and paid attention to where the noise was coming from.

"Yeah, I'd get out of the way." Morgan casually commented as she and Marcus went to the sides of the stairs and the Shepherds quickly followed their cue and then eventually a flaming Griffon and Risen came crashing past them and smashed into the ground. "Yeah, so glad we got out of the way." She commented as Marc and Lucina simply nodded at that.

"Where did they came from?" Chrom asked in bewilderment as he blinked at the sight.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" A female voice shouted revealing it to be Robin holding a mini tornado in her hand. "Now vanish for good you good for nothing corpse!" She cackled as she casted El-Wind on the Risen and its mount and tore to pieces. "Damn that felt good!" She smiled at that.

"Robin." An exasperated voice that both twins found familiar with. "Please don't use me to throw you down the stairs just so you can test out if it is possible to fly with your magic tome and to do an insane suicidal charge." Marcus spoke up revealing to be quite exasperated with her.

"Ah come on dear." Robin said playfully. "What's life without a few fun risks?" She nearly pouted.

"A much longer life if you don't do stupid stunts like that." Marcus deadpanned.

"Dad?" Morgan whispered too quietly for anyone to hear what she was saying properly but loud enough for anyone to hear her.

Marcus and Robin turned to where the voice came from and froze instantly. Two kids dressed in Marcus's armor and Robin's coat was standing before them. "Can it be?" Marcus whispered to Robin.

"Very likely, since Lucina came from the future after all."

"Mom?" Marc spoke up and that practically sealed the deal for the new parents.

"MOM! DAD!" Both twins shouted as they ran into Marcus's and Robin's arms as they cried happily as both newly discovered parents just blinked as they started crying and when they looked to the others who were looking rather helpless they just shrugged and hugged them back.

"Hey there kiddos." Marcus said softly. "It's okay, it's okay, mommy and daddy's here now you two." He said in a warm tone as Morgan simply cried harder into his arms. And Robin did the same as Marc simply cried into her arms too.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **First time I'm doing it for this story at any rate sorry for the delay, got stuck with a incredibly demanding school schedule and some snow days and sick days from some of my most demanding classes made it extra hard and I had to play catch up. Hope you all enjoy the story and next chapter won't be a chapter but a Q/A session that will either have me answer it or any characters of your choosing answer it. You have about two weeks to send me questions and I accept both questions from reviews and PMs.**


	27. QA Session

**Hello Readers! Welcome to the first ever Q/A Session done by the Eighth of the Crimson Vermin. I am glad that people have taken the time to ask me questions on the story that I have written. Now as for the first person to ask me questions is kerrowe!**

He asks.

Are you planning on using the Out Realms for the DLC events?

In canon or even as a side story?

How much does Marc have of Marcus' stuff?

The Pipboy maybe?

How well planned would you say your plans are for the fanfic's future?

Are there going to be any of those end-game character reappearances for recruitment? Like the Walhart, Priam and, Aversa ones?

Answers.

I may use the Out Realms as side stories or possible Omakes in the future, it is not certain but it is possible. As for how much of Marcus's stuff that Marc has, he has a certain number of his items but only a few of them. He also does not have Marcus's Pipboy. As for my plans for my plans for this fanfic, I actually have it planned pretty far ahead. The only issue I would have with uploading story content would be the fact that I have to deal with lots of school work. And as for the end of the game characters like Walhart, Priam and Aversa. Walhart and Aversa will not be part of the Shepherds as they will die. As for Priam I may intend for him to show up earlier.

Next, we have **Toa Solaric**

Who asks. Does Marc have Marcus's Pipboy? Or is it lost in the future?

Answers.

Marc does not have Marcus's Pipboy with him but he only has a few of Marcus's weapons with him, furthermore it was lost in the future with Marcus.

Next we have **Half_-beastdragonsoul2013**

Who asks in a way. This better not be a harem. Also, this Courier has low luck.

Answers.

Naturally it is not, Marcus is only married and in love with Robin and that is all. And Marcus does have low luck but normally he can get through it with skills and determination. But against a select few he's going to have an incredibly hard time or impossible time beating like Gangrel with his Lightning Blade.

Answering questions that has appeared in the reviews but were never answered but I am not replying to questions that are no longer relevant.

First, we have **UndeadLord22**

Who asks.

Can he just use the fucking armor (T-60 or something) and just meld Saturnite into the thing?

Idk, because this just made the story more complicated.

Answers

No, because that would break the balance of the story, it would also be impractical for Marcus to use power armor in the long term as being in a rather primitive time, it would be all but impossible to find replacement parts for Power Armor.

Next, we have **ptl**

Who asks.

Mark the Tactician is the Lone Wanderer, right? And will there be a spin-off of this fic that relates his adventures in the FE world?

Answers.

Mark the Tactician from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is the Lone Wanderer, and if I ever do a spin off series to Wildcard's Awakening, it will be about the adventures of the Lone Wanderer as Mark the Tactician.

Next, we have **Artyom-Dreizehn**

Who asks.

So Grima already knew Marcus from before because of his involvement in the future past?

Will there be a chance for a rudimentary firearm for the Ylissean league?

So, in here's the outline and correct me if I'm wrong. in the origin timeline Marcus never appeared or he is there?

When will you make Robin wear the Grandmaster tactician outfit?

Answers.

Grima is well aware of his involvement but didn't think much of him because he was crippled in Lucina's timeline. And no firearms for the Ylissean League as that would make it too easy for the good guys and Marcus has no idea on what pipe weapons are and or early firearms as he only cares and maintains his gear. Marcus did appear in the original timeline but didn't have as big of an impact as the current Marcus right now. She's wearing the new coat right now as a birthday gift from the royal family.

Next, we have **BlitzNeutral69**

Who asks.

Soooooo... when are they gonna have the baby? Between Marcus and robin? Pls respond

Answers.

No baby anytime soon but they do have future kids to care for.

Next, we have **Nightshade213**

Who asks.

Is there any chance that you'll include the Lone Wanderer and the Sole Survivor?

Answers.

Nope, this is the story of the Courier.

Next, we have **Kweh Viola**

Who asks.

Right, so the end of Jotaro's fight against do, and the Mysterioso fight. Am I missing any other JoJo references?

Answers.

No more JoJo references for now. But there shall be more if I can fit it in.

Next, we have **Jes Simms**

Who asks.

Will there be another character from the Fallout-verse coming in?

Answers.

There may be a possibility of that occurring.

Next, we have **Axcel**

Who asks.

Why do the protagonists always think they'll be thought of as crazy and/or abandoned or something?

Answers.

Because most people who say they are from different worlds are tend to be seen as crazy and if they don't prove it, people tend to leave behind crazy or delusional people.

Next, we have **edboy4926**

Who asks.

Question, any chance of the creatures from Fallout ending up in the Emblemverse?

Answers.

No way.


	28. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes**

 **Sorry it took a while for me to release a chapter, was entering my Finals Week at College and I needed to study and the likes, plus a few more important events to deal with as well. I should be updating on a consistent basis from here on out, until June 8th as I will be on vacation outside the country for about two weeks. Thank you to all my loyal readers and followers and enjoy this chapter.**

There are very few things in life that could be thrown at Marcus and he wouldn't be shocked by it as his story took him all over the place in the Mojave Wasteland. He had seen things that no man would have seen and remain sane. He had done things that he was not really proud of, but in a world where it's a dog eat dog world, people tend to throw out whatever common decency that they had to survive. But he liked to think he was different than most, rather than longing for the past or just living in the present or just living on a far-fetched future. He liked to think that he understood the past, lived well into the present, but also creating a better future one step at a time. So, he liked to say that he was prepared to deal with just about anything thrown at him.

"And then after we woke up, we heard Risen all over the place and that was when we knew we had to start acting before Risen got to us before we could meet up with Lucina!" Morgan said excitedly as Marc nodded in agreement and continued on where she finished.

"Then we found you guys here and Lucina is with you guys as well and we found mom and dad!" Marc cheered as Morgan squealed in joy as the twins hugged each other and jumped for joy as the other Shepherds and Lucina looked at them with an amused look on their faces.

But he certainly wasn't prepared to find out that he was now a father to not one but two kids. As he and Robin looked on a little bit in disbelief at how…peppy the twins were considering that they also hailed from the same future that Lucina did. Part of his mind knew that he and Robin would have kids one day, he also knew given that they were married they would have to prepare a nursery to raise their kids. But damn it was certainly much sooner than he thought!

"I am so glad to see that you guys have made it through all right." Lucina said with a warm smile on her face before she got somber. "Do you know if the others were all right?" She asked and lowered head as both Marc and Morgan shook their head.

"Like we said Luci, we only woke up here recently so we don't really have a clue on the others." Morgan said with a downward expression.

"Sorry we couldn't do much more Luce." Marc apologized as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No Marc, Morgan, it is alright." Lucina said as she shook her head. "I shouldn't have expected too much out of you but knowing that you two are safe just warms my heart." Lucina said with a graceful smile on her face.

"Anyways," Robin spoke up as she interrupted their talks and looked at Lucina with a serious look. "Why didn't you tell us that me and Marcus had children?" She asked the future princess with a questioning look.

Lucina looked down. "I…I wanted for everyone to have children naturally and not because you felt you were compelled to." She explained. "That and there are some couples that would be forced to fall in love or get married because of them." She added in.

"Well I can understand where you're coming from at least." Robin admitted before she motioned to Marcus. "At least we know we have two wonderful kids right honey?" Robin asked only to blink as she heard nothing and turned around to see that Marcus still looked to be in a daze. "Marcus dear?" She asked in concern and then when she got no response she poked him.

Marcus blinked and looked up. "What honey?" Marcus questioned as he looked at her as Robin backed at her with a concerned look. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Honey." Robin replied as she looked at him with concern as did the others besides the twins who only tilted their heads curiously at their father. "You spaced out and didn't reply till I poked you." She explained.

"Ah." Marcus nodded. "I guess, I am now just processing the fact that I have kids now." He admitted as he looked to the twins. "And I admit this was not how I planned on becoming a father." He commented. "Nor did I expect my future kids to come here as well." He added in. "Sorry about that." He winced as he looked at his kids expecting them to look hurt.

Surprisingly they didn't take any offense over that. As they both shook their heads and smiled in understanding. Now that he took a closer look at them he could see how similar they look to him and Robin, the twins had his brown eyes and his black hair color, then he also saw that they had Robin's skin color and similar physical features as well to her. He also noted that Morgan had a similar tattoo on her hand like Robin did.

"It's okay father." Morgan giggled. "I can't imagine this be the easiest thing for you to learn of as of recently if Lucina being here means anything and knowing our future." She said as Marcus nodded at that. "So, no need to worry." She replied before she jumped and hugged Marcus once again. "But this also means I get to spend more time with you!" She squealed happily.

Marcus, for once in his life looked very off put by this as he hugged her back a bit awkwardly as he really didn't know how to go about this. And looked even more confused when Morgan simply squealed and hugged him a bit tighter. Everyone else was chuckling at him, at finally seeing the Straight Man Marcus looking so awkward for once.

"Looks like I'm going to have to read up on those children rearing books back home as soon as possible." Marcus muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear as they soon laughed at him.

* * *

"Let's see here, ah here it is. The book on Psychology of children." Marcus muttered to himself as he read through the book inside his tent as he sat on his cot with a whole pile of books on his desk. "When dealing with kids, you should always prepare to be caught off guard by whatever stunts or actions they take." Marcus read to himself.

Since clearing out the old temple, they discovered more than a few chests full of treasure, rare artifacts, and the like. As well as the powerful artifact known as Naga's Tears, which Miriel was looking into to determine the natures of the substance and going off on what the tales told of it. Robin was currently spending time with their kids, something that still caught off him off guard, and he was here simply trying to get how to prepare to have kids.

"Gods almighty, how did Chrom learn how to deal with this?" Marcus sighed to himself as he threw the book onto the pile and took out another book that details on how to deal with your now teenage or adult children and what you should do to bond with them. Him and kids never really mixed all that well, most of them time they were the really weird ones, former slaves, or just staring at you while their parents do all the talking with the various merchants for goods.

"Marcus, it's time for dinner!" Robin said cheerfully as she strolled in to see that Marcus was still reading causing her to gain a concerned look on her face. "Marcus, dear? Is something the matter?" She asked as she strolled over to the cot and sat down next to him.

Marcus blinked and looked to the side. "Oh, hey Robin." he said in a distracted tone. "How were the kids today?" He asked as he went back to reading the book on how to deal with teenage children.

"Well, Marc and Morgan are absolute delights to be around dear." Robin started off. "And they are also very skilled in both combat and tactics as well." She said with a proud look on her face. "They were also quite eager to spend some time with me as they didn't get to know me that well in the future when I went missing in action." She sighed.

Marcus stopped reading his book and looked up to Robin. "Robin, you know that was not your fault, for whatever reason you vanished, it was not your fault or anyone else's save for those damned cultists." Marcus replied as he pulled Robin into a hug. "The only ones we have to blame for you not being part of Marc and Morgan's life are them and no one else." He said.

Robin shook her head. "Marcus, you don't know that, in the future that the kids came from, I must have been a different person and must have retained my past memories." She said as she looked at her hands. "I don't know why you and I fell in love with each other in that future, but I must have been different at the very least." She replied. "Who knows what I could have been involved with in that time?"

"And whatever it was your involved with doesn't matter right now." Marcus assured her as Robin shook her head even harder and slipped from his hug. "Is something the matter?" He asked in worry upon seeing that Robin looked incredibly nervous for some reason or another.

"Marcus…do you remember the night that the Assassination attempt on Exalt Emmeryn that happened so long ago?" She asked softly as Marcus nodded at that. "Do you remember that man we defeated who turned out to be the ringleader called Validar who later turned out to have some important power in the Plegian government?" She asked again.

Marcus snorted at that. "It's a bit hard to forget that walking, talking, arrogant, self-assured, overconfident, cowardly, and annoying villain cliché." Marcus replied with a deadpan tone as Robin giggled at the description of the man in question, who was all those things and more.

"Well before you got there, I was fighting him remember?" She asked as Marcus nodded at that. "During that fight he…claimed to have known me." She said softly as Marcus's eyes focused on that. "He claims that I had no memories to claim of." She said as she started to shake a bit. "He was going to take me with him to somewhere I don't know." She said as she shivered now. "Which begs to question, just who I was before I woke up on that field?" She asked.

Marcus then surprised her by pulling her back into a hug. "Robin, there's something that you need to know as well." He said softly. "Me and Emmeryn were well aware that you might have been a member of the Grimleal Cult." He said softly as Robin's eyes turned wide at that. "Emmeryn figured it out the moment she saw your cloak as it is one typically worn by high ranking members of the cult." He said to her as Robin looked down at that.

"If that was the case then why didn't she have me arrested? Why didn't you stop trusting me after that?" She asked before she looked up to see that Marcus was smiling rather warmly at her.

"Robin, who you were, or who you will be doesn't matter, because I know that the woman that I fell in love with is the Robin before me." He said kindly as Robin took a sudden breath. "You are the Robin that I fell in love with, you are the woman who led us to victory so many times, you are the woman that I danced with the night of that Victory Ball. You can be no one else but you."

"Marcus." Robin muttered.

"No matter what you did in the past or what you might do in the future, I will fall in love with you every time, be it for the same or for different reasons. You are my wife and I have absolute faith in you no matter what you or a walking villain cliché says otherwise." Marcus smiled back.

"Marcus." Robin said one last time before she hugged him back tenderly.

"Alright now Robin, let's go, our family is waiting for us." Marcus said as he and Robin got out to join the rest of the Shepherds for dinner as Marcus dropped the book he was reading on a pile of books he had read through but needed more details on still.

* * *

"So how have you and your brother been Morgan?" Marcus asked awkwardly as he sat down next to his daughter that came from the future. If he hadn't met Lucina already, he would have thought that he somehow inhaled about ten shots of Jet and then injected himself with about twelves shots of Psycho. Because there is no way he could have realistically have such a peppy kid.

"Oh, it is absolutely wonderful father!" Morgan chimed happily as she looked at her father who looked somewhat uncomfortable with those big round happy eyes of hers, that she failed to notice completely. "I am back in the past and already in less than a day we finally reunited with you and mom! This is certainly proof that Naga helped us a lot and favors us to win and change our fate!" She said with a very big smile.

"…Right." Marcus strained to say, what else was he supposed to say in reply to that? "You and your brother did make it through the portal alright yes?" he asked wondering if his kids somehow got a part of their brains affected by the time warp shenanigans…that or its his fault considering the brain damage he got at the beginning of his adventures and especially when he got his brain removed at the nightmarish research facility.

"Of course, me and Marc made it out of the portal okay father. Why wouldn't we?" Morgan asked as she looked at Marcus on confusion before she hummed and looked contemplative. "At least I don't think so. I don't have any issues remembering anything and I do remember you and everyone else quite easily." Morgan added in. "Why did you ask that father?" Morgan asked.

"Well." Marcus started off as he rubbed his head a bit as he struggled to figure out the best way to explain this without insulting his daughter. "You know how me and your mom had issues?" He said rather suddenly causing Morgan to blink and tilt her head adorably. "You do know the kind of issues you and your mom had?" he repeated again and this time much more slowly.

"What issues?" She asked in confusion as Marcus sighed a bit at that before her eyes widened a bit before she bumped her hands together. "Oh! You mean your memory issues ad the problem with your brain!" She chirped out as Marcus blinked.

"You remember my amnesia problems and the time that I got my brain removed?" He asked for clarity. "Morgan nodded quickly at that as she took a closer look at Marcus's head and invading his personal space like it was nothing. "Morgan sweetie? You're too close for comfort right about now." Marcus commented.

"Ah sorry but I just have to see if there are the stich lines that came from the "torture chamber of death and doom" you always kept on describing it as such and then shivering away whenever we ask you about that place." Morgan commented as she kept on searching Marcus's head for marks of such of operation but found nothing. "Huh, nothing's there, guess the medical sciences is much more advanced where you're from than ours." Morgan stated as she looked at a particularly disturbed Marcus. "Something the matter father?" Morgan asked

"I…told you about the Big Empty?" He questioned as Morgan nodded. "And all of its works?" He asked again as Morgan nodded again. "And you just casually want to find out if I have any reminder of that little nightmarish experience?" He asked for a third time as Morgan casually nodded at that. "Why are you not disturbed or why would I even tell you that?" He asked wondering what kind of future, did they come from that he felt okay talking about that kind of topic with the kids. Sure, he may have mentioned it to the rest of his friends but that was mainly skimmed over and lots of the disturbing stuff censored. But just why though?

"Because it made a good bedtime horror story!" Morgan chirped with a happy expression on her face.

"…" Marcus was completely blank at this admittance. He wondered for a moment if he should take that as confirmation that his daughter was truly not well in the head and it was utterly and mainly completely his fault that she was not all there. Then he remembered something that made him forget about all of that. "Wait a minute, what about Robin?" He asked suddenly. "What about your mother?" He repeated again.

"What about mom?" Morgan asked with a confused look.

"I mean what about her amnesia." Marcus clarified for Morgan. "Did she ever regain her memories or what?" He asked as Morgan looked at him in complete and utter confusion. "Morgan? Is something the matter dear?" He asked.

"Father." Morgan started off calmly in the same tone that he normally used whenever he was about to deliver some shocking news. "Mom never lost her memory at all in our timeline." She replied as Marcus blinked once, and then twice, and then thrice at what he had just heard.

"…What?" Marcus was all that he could say at the moment.

"Dad, mom has never lost her memory at all in the least, she told us that she was a refugee running from Plegia as grandma or her mom got on the bad side of some bad people who pursued her simply for being related to her." Morgan explained as she looked at Marcus with concern. "Didn't mom ever tell you this?" She asked.

Marcus blinked at what he heard. "Morgan, there's a few things that you should probably know." He said as he took his daughter with him to somewhere where they can have a quiet discussion. 'First the assassination attempt, then Validar, and now this.' Marcus thought to himself. 'Just how much did the past change already and will Lucina's future knowledge be for nothing?' he thought to himself.

* * *

Marcus simply walked to the Command Tent where Chrom, Sumia, Frederick, Robin, and the magical communication devices were set up where the Exalt and the Khans are. Mustafa wasn't available since he was still gathering the Plegian Naval Fleet to be send to Regna Ferox to be ready to fight the war against the Valmese Empire. And soon was greeted by the sight of them.

"Greetings Exalt Emmeryn, Khan Flavia, and Khan Basilio." Marcus greeted upon seeing them before he took a seat next to Robin. As the leaders of their respective nations greeted him back.

"So, Marcus, we heard that you just became a father, I suppose congratulations are in order." Emmeryn spoke up teasingly as Marcus sighed as both Basilio and Flavia laughed at him while Robin simply patted him to the best of her ability. "And to have twins as well, those are rather rare I must admit, I suppose you and Lady Robin must have spend a lot of time together." She added in as Chrom started chuckling at him and the Khans simply just laughed harder.

"Oh, sure laugh at me why don't you?" Marcus muttered. "You meet one future kid and somehow the next set of future kids that turn out to be yours and everyone's laughing for one reason or another." He snarked back at them before he scowled at Chrom who just had fun at his expense. "Oh sure, laugh at me why don't you? When we find another future kid maybe it will be yours and it will be a daughter who's just as clumsy as Sumia eh?"

Chrom and Sumia snorted at that. "Oh please, the likelihood of us having another child is rather low and the idea that clumsiness is somehow passed down is rather silly Marcus." Chrom replied as he shook his head in disbelief before he looked to Marcus with a more serious look. "But seriously though, how's finding out you're a father all of a sudden doing to you?" he asked.

"…Shocking to say the least." Marcus sighed out as Robin looked at him curiously. "Don't get me wrong, they're a delight to be around but I am still trying to comprehend that my kids are not only that peppy and cheerful. But they also seem to be…" He trailed off a bit not knowing what to really say about them.

"Incredibly eccentric?" Robin offered as Marcus nodded at that as Robin sighed. "I think I understand what you mean by that dear. Marc is a delight but he is also somewhat strange with the way that he switches between speaking like a normal person to speaking like an overly bombastic enthusiastic storyteller at times." She sighed before she looked to Marcus with a questioning look. "Which begs the question of, what in Naga's name did you do to raise Marc to be like that?" She asked Marcus with a clearly confused look as everyone else looked at him with curious looks, especially the Khans who were interested in what kind of kids did Marcus and Robin have that could be near opposites of their parents.

Marcus looked at them just as confused as he raised his hands in exasperation before he smacked them across his forehead. "How would I know what future me was thinking when he raised his kids to possibly be like that?" he nearly snapped at them. "I am not the me of the future, I am the me of the present, and already there are massive divergences in the timeline so I would have no actual reason to raise them like that, now would I?" He nearly shouted at the group.

Khan Basilio and Chrom rose their hands up in surrender at the sight of Marcus's increasing annoyance with them. "Okay, okay we're sorry for being rather pushy Marcus." Chrom apologized. "We didn't mean to aggravate you that badly." He added in hoping that it would that it would calm down Marcus a bit and prevent him from ripping right into him. And it worked as Marcus simply just sighed and slumped and apparently stopped caring about what they were doing.

"Whatever, let's just keeping going on and get whatever it is that we need to do done." Marcus replied calmly as Robin simply just rubbed his shoulders to keep him calm. "So, what is it that you have for us on the latest on the mustering the combined army that we currently have going for us?" Marcus asked the leaders seriously as he switched right into business mode.

Flavia was the first to answer. "When Mustafa called up arms to join us, about ten ships came in with about four merchant's ships to provide additional resources and carry supplies for us have arrived already." Flavia answered. "And that's just the first group, we're expecting many more ships to join us the weeks to come and I estimate about a several weeks we will be fully prepared to move out." She explained.

Chrom nodded at that. "That's good news, and since it would take some time to get ready still, is there anything that we can do to help around in your nation?" Chrom asked as Flavia and Basilio looked contemplative at that.

"Well we had words of some rather nasty Slavers in parts of our territory but haven't had the time to go after or to deal with." Flavia started off as Marcus's fist started to clench in anger and memory of the Slavers he had hunted down back home.

"They are proving to be an annoyance that would threaten our people but for people like you it should be easy to take them down correct?" Basilio replied.

Chrom nodded. "Very well then, we shall do what we can to take down these Slavers and bring them to justice." He said firmly.

"Both Khans nodded. "You have our thanks for that." Flavia said before she soon left followed by Basilio as they continued their war preparations for the war against the Valmese Empire.

Which left mainly the Ylissean group to continue their talks. "So how has things been on the home front Emm?" Chrom asked kindly and becoming much more informal as Emmeryn simply smiled at her brother.

"There's been a few difficulties here and there." Emmeryn admitted. "But that's mainly on arguments on how many warriors that we need to send to fight the empire. And the fact that we are also conscripting soldiers from many Nobles with titles and or land to their names makes it a rather unpopular because they are not our soldiers but theirs." Emmeryn explained to the group.

"Shall I come back home to make sure there is compliance among the gutless fools who think their interests and wants come before the needs and survival of the nation of Ylisse?" Marcus asked as he got up and cracked his neck and knuckles as Emmeryn quickly waved him off in a panic to prevent Marcus from cleaning out the nobility again, as she had trouble getting things done due to how dedicated Marcus is when he is working on them.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no Marcus!" Emmeryn said in a near panic causing Chrom and Robin to chuckle a bit at the panicked expression that she had on her face. "It was simply a few nobles that are causing some trouble not enough that it needs warrant your attention right now. It is around at simply at best five of them while the majority of my court is perfectly able to deal with the demands of our nation sees fit for them." She said and quickly explained to hopefully prevent Marcus from going on a cleansing binge again.

Marcus chuckled somewhat darkly at that. "Very well Emm, you know that I will do what I need to do to take care of the undesirable problems out of Ylisse forever." He said as he returned to his seat where everyone felt their nerves nearly shot up to that. Despite Marcus being a decent man, it was times like these when his ruthlessness shined and the legacy of his home world makes them rather apparent.

Marcus unlike Emmeryn, believes in simply just eliminating the problems if they happen to have people behind them. He offers no form of mercy like Emmeryn would, he is pragmatic whereas Emmeryn is more idealistic. He didn't care who he killed so long as he knew they were the kind of scum that no one would really miss or care about or they somehow disgusted him well enough that he went out of their way to completely and utterly slaughter them. Unlike everyone else, while they did feel something about the people they killed. Marcus was completely and utterly apathetic to who he had to kill and didn't spare them much of a second glance. Unless he was remembering about the way he killed them and the likes.

"Right then." Robin soon spoke up to disperse the nervous tension that her husband has unintentionally caused. "I suppose we should rest up now since it is getting late and we should make sure to deal with those Slavers that the Khans told us about." She said before getting a thoughtful look on her face. "I wonder what kind of weapons, mounts, and supplies they could be equipped with if they are Slavers?" She hummed in thought about that.

"It varies from group to group Robin." Marcus spoke up. "Some Slavers can be as badly equipped as bandits or raiders while more wealthier groups can be as well armed as an army with some of the best weapons and armors that people normally don't see." Marcus explained. "Considering that these Slavers are attacking the villages to some of the finest warriors here on this continent. And they managed to survive for so long that it caused both Khans to regard them as problems. Then it is safe to say that they have to be at least well equipped for a raiding party or at best even better armed than a normal army group of sorts would be." Marcus spoke out his own thoughts on the matter at hand.

"I see." Robin hummed into thought as she ran the calculations through her head wondering about what kind of resistance can they be expected to face when they finally hunt down these Slavers. "I think I have a lot to plan for when we finally meet these Slavers, then again they are only theoretical. Nothing practical till we finally see what kind of numbers these Slavers can bring to the table." Robin replied. To the group as she started to leave now. "See all of you later." She replied before she exited the tent.

Which then left Chrom, Sumia, Marcus, and Frederick by themselves now. And three of the four of them were still awkward and not really sure of what to say this time without getting a bit too personal on Marcus. "So, how's Lucina's skills with the blade by the way Chrom?" Marcus soon asked up kind of getting tired of the silence.

Chrom lit up at that. "Oh Marcus, you wouldn't believe how skilled she is!" He said sounding very giddy which was a hilarious image since Chrom was a fully-grown man. "She has my speed and my strength, and even better since she was taught by you she lots of useful and interesting tricks that she was able to show me." he continued on about Lucina.

Then it became a night for Chrom to boast about Lucina's skills and how far she has come along as a warrior and that is what he did as the rest of them sat around in amusement as Chrom talked about how amazing his future daughter is to him.


End file.
